Celltrion says its COVID-19 antibody shows ‘strong neutralising activity’ against Delta variant

Celltrion has announced that its COVID-19 antibody treatment regdanvimab has a ‘strong neutralising effect’ against the Delta variant first identified in India.

According to a pre-clinical in vivo study, which assessed the neutralisation effect of regdanvimab (CT-P59), treatment with the antibody results in a 100% survival rate from COVID-19 compared to 0% for the placebo group.

The antibody treatment also provided ‘significant’ protection against body weight loss after viral challenge, Celltrion added.

On top of that, a therapeutic dose of regdanvimab significantly reduced the viral load of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inflammation in the lungs compared to non-treated controls.

In a statement, Celltrion said that regdanvimab has shown in vivo efficacy against the Delta variant following the Beta and Gamma variants.

The antibody treatment also demonstrated ‘strong neutralising capability’ against the Lambda variant in a cell-based pseudo-virus assay study performed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the US.

“[This] new data [is] encouraging and reinforcing our body of both preclinical and clinical data,” said HoUng Kim, head of medical and marketing division at Celltrion Healthcare.

“The Delta variant is a highly transmissible and contagious variant that could prompt further waves of infection around the world. It is important to expand the arsenal of monoclonal antibody therapies that are hoped to remain effective against the emerging COVID-19 variants,” he added.