BOSTON, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 — Fenway Health announces today that the Boston-based community health center has been activated as a late-stage clinical trial site for the CoVPN 3502 monoclonal antibody study hoping to prevent COVID-19 disease among household members of recently diagnosed people.
This study will examine the efficacy of REGN-COV2, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ investigational double antibody combination for the prevention of COVID-19. This Phase 3 trial will evaluate REGN-COV2’s ability to prevent infection among uninfected people who have had close exposure to a COVID-19 patient, such as the patient’s housemate or partner. It is led by Regeneron and sites part of the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) are participating in the trial. Supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the CoVPN aims to enroll thousands of volunteers in large-scale clinical trials testing a variety of investigational vaccines and monoclonal antibodies intended to protect people from COVID-19.
“Fenway Health is excited to be part of the COVID Prevention Trial Network’s evaluation of Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody combination for the prevention of COVID-19 disease,” said Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, Medical Research Director at Fenway Health and Co-Director of The Fenway Institute. “The study will enroll individuals whose household members have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and can provide important insights about this promising new prevention modality. Given our decades of studies focusing on pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV infection, this trial builds on our extensive experience in infection prevention research.”
The study is one of several Phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials testing whether experimental monoclonal antibodies can prevent infection of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus now enrolling healthy adults at clinical trial sites in the United States. Many of the trial sites and study investigators are part of the CoVPN. The trials are enrolling adults who are at risk of infection due to close contact to persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection at work or home.
Monoclonal antibodies, or mAbs, are proteins manufactured in a laboratory that help people fight infection, delivered through an intravenous infusion (i.e., through a vein) or injection. Nearly 100 mAbs are approved to treat various diseases and conditions, including cancers and autoimmune diseases. Besides exploring COVID-19 prevention and treatment roles, mAbs have been shown to decrease mortality from Ebola virus and are being studied to treat and prevent HIV.
For more information about COVID-19 research at Fenway Health, call 617.927.6450 or send an email to [email protected].