Regeneron is good at making antibodies

Back in 2015, as an Ebola virus outbreak killed thousands in West Africa, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals tapped its vaunted antibody-discovery technology and rush-ordered a three-antibody cocktail that might treat infection. Yesterday, we found out it worked.

In preliminary results, more than 70% of Ebola patients who got Regeneron’s antibodies survived, compared to about 50% of those who got ZMapp, which has been in use since 2015, STAT’s Helen Branswell reports.

What’s interesting is the difference in tone between public health authorities, who were effusive about the promise of Regeneron’s therapy, and the analyst community that has found the company’s recent news to be underwhelming. The scientific engine behind that Ebola treatment once made Regeneron the toast of biotech, but recent years have been leaner, and now the company needs prove it has a second act “to justify the stock’s return to its former lofty perch in the sector,” as SVB Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges wrote in a note to investors last week.