Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is collaborating with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to study the feasibility of intranasal delivery of Regeneron’s casirivimab and imdevimab antibody cocktail for the prevention of COVID-19, the university said. The antibody cocktail, which recently received emergency use authorization from the FDA, is currently given by infusion.
The Penn team, led by Professor James Wilson, will investigate the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to get the antibody sequences into nasal epithelial cells. If an initial preclinical study in a large animal model is successful, the researchers intend to conduct additional studies to support an IND submission to the FDA.
Wilson explained, “The fight against COVID-19 requires the most creative approaches for the prevention, testing, and treatment of this disease. . . .The advantage of AAV in this application is that can achieve sustained expression of the antibodies in the nasal mucosa, which is the site of infection, following a single administration. In contrast to traditional vaccines, AAV delivery of antibodies provides a rapid onset of response and no reliance on the need for the recipient to mount an immune system response over time. This latter feature may be particularly attractive in people with weakened immune systems, like the elderly, or people who need rapid protection, like frontline healthcare workers.”
Regeneron VP of Research, Infectious Diseases and Viral Vector Technologies Christos Kyratsous commented, “Regeneron scientists specifically selected casirivimab and imdevimab to block infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and we have been encouraged by the promising clinical data thus far. In the quest to use cutting-edge science to help end this disruptive and often very devastating disease, we are excited to explore alternate delivery mechanisms such as AAV that may extend the potential benefits of this investigational therapy to even more people around the world.”
Read the University of Pennsylvania press release.
