Are laboratory-made, COVID-19-specific monoclonal antibodies an effective treatment for COVID-19?

' SARS ‐CoV‐2‐neutralising monoclonal antibodies for treatment of COVID‐19 ' from  Cochrane Haematology  published today in the Cochrane Library. Key messagesWe do not know whether antibodies (the body ’s natural defence against disease) made in a laboratory and all the same as one another (monoclonal) and designed to target COVID-19, are an effective treatment for COVID-19 because we assessed only six studies exploring different treatments in different types of patients.We identified 36 ongoing studies that will provide more evidence when completed.We will update this review regularly as more evidence becomes available.We spoke to Nina Kreuzberger, Research Associate, who explained this review to us:“In the rush to treat COVID patients, treatments have been used that are not yet supported by mature data. SARS-CoV-2 neutralising monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)  are being used and bought widely, although their value is still under question. Multiple monoclonal antibodies or antibody cocktails, such as bamlanivimab, bamlanivimab with etesevimab, casirivimab with imdevimab, sotrovimab, and regdanvimab, have been investigated in one study each.In non-hospitalised patients, mAbs may reduce the rate of hospitalisation or death, but effects on mortality alone, adverse events, serious adverse events and quality of life are uncertain or vary per substance due to small sample sizes, or are completely lacking. Data on bamlanivimab in hospitalised patients show little to no...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news