two monoclonal antibody treatments have been approved by the European regulator

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved for the first time, Thursday, November 11, the marketing in the EU of two antibody treatments against Covid-19. The treatment of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, Ronapreve, and that of the South Korean company Celltrion, the Regkirona, are intended for patients who do not need supplemental oxygen and who are at risk of developing severe forms.

Ronapreve and Regkirona are the first two drugs to receive a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use against Covid-19. Monoclonal antibodies (the names of which end in “mab”, for “monoclonal antibody”) are “proteins designed to bind to a specific target”, explains the EMA, “in this case the spike protein of Sars-CoV-2, which the virus uses to enter human cells”.

Antibodies are one of the building blocks of our immune system. Faced with the presence of a dangerous element, such as a virus, our body naturally produces it to identify the invader. The idea of ​​synthetic antibodies is to select natural antibodies and to reproduce them artificially to then administer them as a treatment, generally by infusion.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said approval of the two drugs was a “important step” against the disease, the EU relying so far on four vaccines. “With increases in Covid-19 contamination in almost all member states, it is reassuring to see many promising treatments in development”, she added in a statement.