If United States President Donald Trump makes a full recovery from his Covid-19 infection, he might owe a little bit of gratitude to Covid-19 patients in Singapore.
According to Asian Scientist, blood samples from three patients in Singapore were used to develop one of two antibodies in an experimental Covid-19 drug called REGN-COV2.
Drug was created by cloning antibodies from mice and humans
A high dose of the drug — developed by US-based biotechnology company Regeneron — was administered to Trump as part of his treatment reported ITV.
Plasma from patients who have recovered from Covid-19 can contain protective antibodies which is effective in preventing or treating the disease.
However, since it is difficult to obtain enough plasma from volunteers for the drug to be used on a large scale, Regeneron cloned antibodies from both “humanised” mice (mice genetically modified to have a human-like immune system) and recovered Covid-19 patients to produce a reliable source of antibodies.
Asian Scientist reported that the human plasma used was supplied by three Singapore patients through an agreement with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Positive data from Regeneron trial
On Sep. 29, 2020, Regeneron announced positive data from a Phase One trial involving 275 patients.
The trial showed that REGN-COV2 reduced viral levels and improved symptoms.
On Monday evening, Oct. 5 (U.S. time), Trump left Walter Reed Medical Centre after a three-day stay.
However, Sean P Conley, the White House physician, told reporters, "(Trump) may not entirely be out of the woods yet.".
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Top image from Donald Trump's Facebook page and NCID