Donald Trump is being treated with an experimental antibody cocktail after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The US President has received an intravenous dose of Regeneron's polyclonal antibody cocktail.
Regeneron's drug, REGN-COV2, is part of a class of experimental COVID-19 drugs known as monoclonal antibodies: manufactured copies of human antibodies to the virus that are being studied for use in patients with early illness.
Antibodies are proteins made by the body's immune system that latch onto and neutralize an invading virus. Regeneron's cocktail - which contains an antibody made by the company and a second isolated from humans who recovered from COVID-19 - is designed so that its two antibodies bind to the coronavirus' spike protein, limiting the ability of viruses to escape.
"[Trump's doctors] must be sufficiently concerned with what they are seeing that they decided to use an experimental medicine," said Dr Edward Jones-Lopez, infectious disease specialist at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "Experimental drugs are by definition risky."
Data so far is limited for COVID-19 antibodies, but US infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci is among those saying the technology has promise.
Trump has also been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin.
Famotidine is a heartburn drug often sold in the US under the brand name Pepcid. Although the drug has not been shown to work against COVID-19, researchers are studying it as a possible treatment.
Zinc and vitamin D are believed to boost the immune system. Melatonin is a hormone that helps to regulate daily body rhythms.
Trump has said in the past that he takes a daily low-dose aspirin, which is recommended for some adults at increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
Reuters / Newshub
