Story at a glance
- Bill Gates said that the cocktail of monoclonal antibodies used by President Trump is an “exciting” development in the fight against the coronavirus.
- While the drugs aren’t a cure or vaccine, they show signs of helping prevent infection.
President Trump’s announcement revealing the medications he used after being diagnosed with COVID-19 have reverberated through many sectors of the country, with the drugs’ manufacturers Eli Lilly and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ stock jumping following Trump’s endorsement.
The antibody drugs used on the president are classified as monoclonal antibodies, which have yielded optimistic results in clinical trials, and have already begun the process of filing for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization.
Monoclonal antibodies are manufactured using the antibodies of a recovered COVID-19 patient, and aims at stimulating an immune response to help the body fight off the current infection.
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As more data sheds light on the efficacy and safety of these two treatments, some share Wall Street’s enthusiasm for the drugs, including Microsoft CEO and philanthropist Bill Gates.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Gates said that the clinical results demonstrated by monoclonal antibodies are “actually pretty exciting.”
“The reduction in death rate there could be pretty high, and those will be out in volume by the end of the year, at least in the rich countries,” he said. Gates also noted that the vaccine candidates in development, including ones created by Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca, could help life return to “pretty close to normal” by late next year in the U.S. and other comparable countries.
Gates runs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has made sizable donations to initiatives to help develop a COVID-19 vaccine and treatments. He predicts that the virus won’t be eradicated for another two to three years.
Both drugs used by Trump are injected intravenously, with the Journal noting that scientists are optimistic it can be used to preemptively — but temporarily — combat a coronavirus infection.
The drugs were administered to Trump under a compassionate use program.
The challenge for public health officials will be to help alleviate concerns and fears of a potential vaccine among the general public. Multiple surveys have indicated that most Americans have low confidence in a future vaccine, with one study estimating that only half of the public would elect to take a COVID-19 vaccine if a low-cost one was available.
Gates said that it is the responsibility of U.S. political and business leaders to explain the benefits of a vaccine and help inspire higher confidence levels among the public.
“Here in the U.S., we should already be thinking about which voices will help reduce the hesitancy,” he explained.
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