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A12 science
Saturday 19 September 2020

Study hints antibody drug may cut COVID-19 hospitalizations

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE visits occurred in 1.7%, or 5
A drug company says that of 302 patients given the
partial results from a study drug and 6% or 9 of 150 of
testing an antibody drug those given placebo. The
give hints that it may help company did not disclose
keep mild to moderately whether those results met
ill COVID-19 patients from scientific tests to rule out
needing to be hospitalized, that they could have oc-
a goal no current corona- curred by chance alone.
virus medicine has been The company felt that giv-
able to meet. ing the actual numbers
Eli Lilly announced the re- "told the story in the most
sults Wednesday in a press balanced way," said Lilly's
release, but they have chief scientific officer, Dr.
not been published or re- Daniel Skovronsky.
viewed by independent The difference seems large
scientists. enough to suggest a true
The drug missed the study's benefit and the result is
main goal of reducing the "promising" even though
amount of virus patients the study missed its main
had after 11 days, except goal, said Dr. Peter Bach, a
at the middle of three dos- health policy expert at Me-
es being tested. However, morial Sloan Kettering Can-
most study participants, In this May 2020 photo provided by Eli Lilly, a researcher tests possible COVID-19 antibodies in a cer Center in New York with
even those given a place- laboratory in Indianapolis. no role in the study.
bo treatment, had cleared Associated Press The study will continue to
the virus by then, so that test the antibody drug in
time point now seems too He had no role in the Lilly the strength and types of at high risk of that such as combination with another
late to judge that potential study but helps direct an- antibodies varies depend- nursing home residents and from a Chinese company,
benefit, the company said. tibody studies for a public- ing on each donor, and health workers. Junshi Biosciences. Three
Other tests suggest the private research group doing this on a large scale Wednesday's results come late-stage studies of it also
drug was reducing virus the federal government is impractical. from 450 people in a mid- are underway, including
sooner, and the results are formed to speed testing of The drugs that Lilly and stage study testing an an- two sponsored by the U.S.
an encouraging "proof of these drugs. other companies are test- tibody jointly developed National Institutes of Health.
principle" as this and other "This seems to demonstrate ing are concentrated ver- by Indianapolis-based Lilly Lilly has already started
studies continue, Lilly said. what we thought" — that sions of specific antibodies and the Canadian compa- manufacturing its antibody
The company said it would such drugs would give a that worked best against ny AbCellera in people with drug, hoping to have hun-
talk with regulators about benefit, he said. the coronavirus in lab and COVID-19 symptoms not dreds of thousands of dos-
possible next steps but that Antibodies are proteins animal tests, and can be severe enough to warrant es ready by fall if studies
it was too soon to specu- the body makes when an made in large, standard- hospitalization. The drug is give positive results.
late on whether these inter- infection occurs; they at- ized doses. given once through an IV Another company that de-
im results might lead to any tach to a virus and help it They are being tested to and was tested at three veloped an antibody drug
action to allow early use. be eliminated. The blood of treat newly diagnosed CO- doses. Neither the patients cocktail against Ebola —
"I'm strongly encouraged" survivors is being tested as VID-19 patients in hope of nor their doctors knew Regeneron Pharmaceuti-
by the results, said Dr. My- a treatment for COVID-19 preventing serious disease which patients received cals Inc. — now is testing
ron Cohen, a University of patients because it con- or death, and to try to pre- the drug or placebo infu- a two-antibody drug for
North Carolina virologist. tains such antibodies, but vent infection in people sions. Hospitalization or ER coronavirus.q

Running out of storm names, Atlantic season goes Greek

By SETH BORENSTEIN And if that's not enough, they are fol-
The Atlantic's record-breaking "crazy" lowing two other systems that might de-
hurricane season got a bizarre Euro- velop.
pean remake Friday as forecasters ran "It's crazy," said University of Miami hur-
out of traditional names and trotted ricane researcher Brian McNoldy. "This is
out the Greek alphabet for subtropical just off the charts., We've made a joke
storm Alpha. And it was misplaced geo- of breaking records."
graphically, bearing down on Portugal. Both Wilfred and Alpha set records for
This is only the second time National Hur- earliest 21st and 22nd named Atlantic
ricane Center forecasters have had to storms, beating 2005 by a few weeks.
pull out the Greek alphabet for names, Alpha is odd in another way. It's mis-
with the last time being 2005. Tropical placed into an area where storms don't
Storm Wilfred, the last of traditional generally brew. That's so unusual that
names, officially formed little more than Alpha barely shows up on the hurricane
an hour before Alpha, prompting the center's real time storm tracking map,
This Aqua satellite image taken Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 and pro- hurricane center to tweet "get out the which is focused on the Americas.
vided by NASA, shows subtropical storm Alpha in the eastern Greek alphabet." Only the "Al" of its Greek name shows
North Atlantic Ocean near Portugal's coast. Forecasters also predict Tropical De- and European forecasters are respon-
Associated Press
pression 22 in the western Gulf of Mex- sible for monitoring the small and weak
ico will soon become a named storm. Alpha.q