The monoclonal antibody combination REGEN-COV protects against SARS-CoV-2 mutational escape in preclinical and human studies

Monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are a clinically validated therapeutic option against COVID-19. Because rapidly emerging virus mutants are becoming the next major concern in the fight against the global pandemic, it is imperative that these therapeutic treatments provide coverage against circulating variants and do not contribute to development of treatment-induced emergent resistance. To this end, we investigated the sequence diversity of the spike protein and monitored emergence of virus variants in SARSCOV-2 isolates found in COVID-19 patients treated with the two-antibody combination REGEN-COV, as well as in preclinical in vitro studies using single, dual, or triple antibody combinations, and in hamster in vivo studies using REGEN-COV or singlemonoclonal antibody treatments. Our study demonstrates that the combination of non-competing antibodies in REGEN-COV provides protection against all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern/interest and also protects against emergence of new variants and their potential seeding into the population in a clinical setting.

Automated summary

Monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are clinically validated therapeutic options against COVID-19. Studies show that non-competing antibody combinations in REGEN-COV provide protection against all current variants of concern and prevent the emergence of new variants.