ROCHESTER, Minnesota: In a large observational study, Mayo Clinic researchers showed that two monoclonal antibodies administered separately helped prevent hospitalizations in high-risk, COVID-19-infected patients. The study also showed that there were more hospitalizations among patients with the highest number of comorbidities. The results were published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
‘The actual data reported in this study confirm what was seen in clinical trials with placebos. Monoclonal antibodies are associated with a lower rate of hospitalization, as long as they are administered to patients early in the cycle of COVID-19 infection, “says the Dr. Raymund Reasonable, an infectious disease specialist at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Reasonable is the expert author of the study.
The researchers reviewed the results within a population of 3,596 patients from all Mayo Clinic locations and a median age of 62 years. All the patients had at least one condition that put them at high risk, and just over half of them had various comorbidities. Patients received an infusion of bamlanivimab or casirivimab and imdevimab. After 28 days, the hospitalization rate due to COVID-19 was 2.56 percent. After adjusting for comorbidities, there was no significant difference in hospitalization rate between the two monoclonal antibodies.
It is important to note that this study was carried out between November 2020 and February 2021, the period prior to the discovery of the COVID-19 variants.
While the activity of casirivimab and imdevimab against COVID-19 variants remains, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration no longer authorizes bamlanivimab alone as a treatment for emergency use. Now, bamlanivimab is licensed only as part of a drug combination with etesevimab. Still, the authors say the current study is an important confirmation that monoclonal antibodies are effective in treating high-risk patients and COVID-19.
Mayo Clinic funded the study.
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Contact for the media:
Bob Nellis, Mayo Clinic Public Relations, [email protected]
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