Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. REGN,
said late Tuesday that the U.S. government has agreed to purchase an additional 1.25 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 antibody cocktail. That would bring the US offering of the cocktail, consisting of casirivimab and imdevimab antibodies, to more than 1.5 million doses. Under the new agreement, the government will purchase all finished doses of the cocktail delivered before June 30. Regeneron is already delivering doses to treat about 300,000 people, while President Donald Trump received the treatment when he fell ill with COVID-19 last year. “COVID-19 continues to make hundreds of thousands of Americans sick every day and the people at Regeneron are determined to help,” Chief Executive Leonard S. Schleifer said in a statement. “We are delighted to partner with the US government to provide our antibody cocktail as a key weapon in this battle.” Patients who received the cocktail in clinical trials “experienced a significant decrease in virus levels and required fewer medical visits for COVID-19, suggesting that the therapy may help reduce the current burden on hospitals and healthcare systems,” the company said. The cocktail is still being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in and outside hospitals, including a trial for the prevention of COVID-19 in household contacts with infected people, the company said. Shares of Regeneron were up nearly 5% in the extended session after ending the regular trading day at 0.6%.