President Trump touches down at Walter Reed after COVID diagnosis
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On Friday, the White House revealed that President Trump was given a dose of an antibody cocktail following his coronavirus diagnosis.
COULD REGENERON’S ANTIBODY COCKTAIL HELP PRESIDENT TRUMP?
According to a statement from White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, Trump received an 8-gram dose of the polyclonal antibody cocktail, REGN-COV2, from pharmaceutical company Regeneron, as a “precautionary measure.”
President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday. (iStock)
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Polyclonal antibodies are made up of heterogeneous cells which “are usually produced by different B cell clones in the body,” according to Creative Diagnostics, a privately-owned American company specializing in the research and manufacturing of antibodies. Polyclonal antibodies can identify and attach to different epitomes, a specific piece of a single antigen.
They are produced in live beings, whereas monoclonal antibodies are produced using tissue-culture techniques, the biotechnology company reported.
To create the polyclonal antibodies, an immunogen is typically injected to elicit an immune response. An immunization is then injected to “produce higher titers of antibodies against the particular antigen.”
For the experimental treatment two monoclonal antibodies are isolated -- one antibody from the polyclonal antibodies made from a live mouse, and an antibody isolated from people who have survived COVID-19. The intent is for the two antibodies to bind to the coronavirus’ protein, “limiting the ability of viruses to escape,” Reuters reported.
The treatment has shown effectiveness in decreasing the amount of virus in the body and severity of symptoms, Dr. Matt McCarthy, an infectious disease doctor, told FOX Business’s Stuart Varney.
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“If I got brought in today to the Oval Office, first thing I’d say is, has anyone reached out to Regeneron?” McCarthy said. “Has anyone talked about an antibody cocktail for him? Three days ago, the company showed that they can reduce the amount of virus in the body and that they can decrease the duration of symptoms.”
Correction: A previous version of this report referred to the Regeneron antibodies as polyclonal instead of a set of monoclonal.
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