Washington, October 2: A day after US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19, the former was administered with the still-in-trial Regeneron’s antibody cocktail as a "precautionary measure". The confirmation was made by the White House in a statement issued on Friday. Donald Trump Hospitalised For COVID-19 Treatment; US President Taken to Walter Reed Medical Center, Shares Video Message.

Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley, who is the chief physician of the President, said the commander-in-chief has received a dose of the experimental drug. "He completed the infusion without incident," the doctor added.

Trump "remains fatigued but in good spirits", Dr Conley further said, adding that the President is being routinely provided with zinc, Vitamin D, melatonin and other medications.

What is Regeneron’s Antibody Cocktail?

Described as a two-antibody combo drug, it being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. The antibody cocktail is still under trials, with the results of first clinical tests released earlier this week. The data was encouraging as most of the 275 patients administered with the drug recovered faster than the time taken by body to naturally get cured of mild symptoms.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was previously successful in developing a treatment for Ebola -- the disease responsible for epidemics in parts of Africa. The company is hopeful of releasing the antibody cocktail against COVID-19 for public use after culmination of the clinical tests.

In the trials, the drug is being administered on volunteers who have recently tested positive for the disease. The intent is to find out whether the antibody cocktail prevents the symptoms from turning stronger in most of the patients and catalyse the time which the body naturally requires to completely recover.

The drug is administered to patients in a one-time treatment through intravenous therapy. While it has not been approved for public use, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows experimental drugs to be used in rare cases when the patient is ill and no other treatment is available.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2020 04:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).