RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.
Stable nebulization and muco-trapping properties of regdanvimab/IN-006 support its development as a potent, dose-saving inhaled therapy for COVID-19
McSweeney, M., Stewart, I., Richardson, Z., Kang, H., Park, Y., Kim, C., Tiruthani, K., Wolf, W., Schaefer, A., Kumar, P., Aurora, H., Hutchins, J., Cho, J. M., Hickey, A. J., Lee, S. Y., & Lai, S. (2022). Stable nebulization and muco-trapping properties of regdanvimab/IN-006 support its development as a potent, dose-saving inhaled therapy for COVID-19. Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, 8(1), Article 10391. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.10391
The respiratory tract represents the key target for antiviral delivery in early interventions to prevent severe COVID-19. While neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAb) possess considerable efficacy, their current reliance on parenteral dosing necessitates very large doses and places a substantial burden on the healthcare system. In contrast, direct inhaled delivery of mAb therapeutics offers the convenience of self-dosing at home, as well as much more efficient mAb delivery to the respiratory tract. Here, building on our previous discovery of Fc-mucin interactions crosslinking viruses to mucins, we showed that regdanvimab, a potent neutralizing mAb already approved for COVID-19 in several countries, can effectively trap SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles in fresh human airway mucus. IN-006, a reformulation of regdanvimab, was stably nebulized across a wide range of concentrations, with no loss of activity and no formation of aggregates. Finally, nebulized delivery of IN-006 resulted in 100-fold greater mAb levels in the lungs of rats compared to serum, in marked contrast to intravenously dosed mAbs. These results not only support our current efforts to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IN-006 in clinical trials, but more broadly substantiate nebulized delivery of human antiviral mAbs as a new paradigm in treating SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathologies.
