Covid-19 antibody trials going slowly

Covid-19 treatments are in high demand — and that demand is increasing. But the clinical trials for the most promising experimental drugs seem to be taking too long, the New York Times reports. A number of factors are at play: testing delays, a shortage of staff, reticent patients, and space limitations mean that monoclonal antibody treatments, in particular, are being held up.

Regeneron, for instance, initially claimed it would have emergency doses of an antibody cocktail by the end of the summer — but now it’s saying that “initial data” will be available at the end of September. And Eli Lilly had thought it’s antibody Covid-19 treatment would be ready by next month — but that’s been pushed back to year’s end.

“Of course, I wish we could go faster — there’s no question about that,” one Lilly exec told the NYT. “I guess in my hopes and dreams, we enroll the patients in a week or two, but it’s taking longer than that.”

So the question remains, as STAT’s Matthew Herper and Adam Feuerstein wrote last week: Antibody drugs could be a powerful tool to treat Covid-19. But will they matter?