(Reuters) - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Friday it would stop enrolling patients receiving advanced COVID-19 care in a trial testing its experimental antibody treatment in hospitalized patients, based on the recommendation of an independent safety board.
The recommendation was based on a potential safety signal and an unfavorable risk-benefit profile at this time, the company said. Rival Eli Lilly & Co stopped enrolling such patients based on a similar suggestion earlier this week.
“It appears a trend is emerging in the class, and it may be that neutralizing antibodies simply do not work and/or are not safe in this (hospitalized) population,” JP Morgan analyst Cory Kasimov said in a note.