Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. KINGDOM,
said late Tuesday that the US government had agreed to buy another 1.25 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 antibody cocktail. This would bring the US supply of the cocktail, consisting of casirivimab and imdevimab antibodies, to over 1.5 million doses. Under the new agreement, the government will purchase all completed doses of the cocktail delivered by June 30. Regeneron is already delivering doses to treat about 300,000 people, with President Donald Trump receiving treatment when he contracted COVID-19 last year. “COVID-19 continues to make hundreds of thousands of Americans sick every day, and Regeneron residents have pledged to help,” Chief Executive Leonard S. Schleifer said in a statement. “We are excited to work with the US government to provide our antibody cocktail as an important weapon in this fight.” Patients who received the cocktail in clinical trials “experienced significant reductions in virus levels and required fewer medical visits for COVID-19, suggesting that therapy may help reduce the current burden on hospitals and health systems,” the company said. . The cocktail continues to be evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in and out of hospitals, including a study to prevent COVID-19 in infected household contacts, the company said. Regeneron shares increased by almost 5% in the extended session, after ending the usual trading day by 0.6%.