South Korean firm Celltrion Group has announced new results from an in vivo efficacy study showing that regdanvimab (CT-P59) has a strong neutralising effect against the rapidly spreading Delta variant (B.1.617.2, first identified in India).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Delta variant has been reported in 96 countries becoming the most common variant.

The pre- clinical in vivo study assessed the neutralisation effect of CT-P59 against the Delta variant, using a clinically relevant dose. The study demonstrated that CT-P59 treatment results in a 100% survival rate from COVID-19 compared to 0% for the placebo group, with significant protection against body weight loss shown after viral challenge also seen.

In addition, a therapeutic dosage of CT-P59 significantly reduced the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 and inflammation in the lungs compared to non-treated controls with virus eradication from all animals treated with CT-P59.

The monoclonal antibody (mAb) CT-P59 also demonstrated strong neutralising capability against the Lambda variant (C.37, first identified in Peru) in a cell-based pseudo- virus assay study performed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S.

Dr. HoUng Kim, Ph.D., Head of Medical and Marketing Division at Celltrion Healthcare said, “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.”