A drug developed and produced in Argentina based on antibodies obtained from equine serum will be used to treat patients with severe cases of COVID-19 starting this week in hospitals throughout the country.

It is the COVIFAB serum authorized on December 22nd by the ANMAT, the government agency that regulates drugs, medicines and food safety, after a clinical study showed that it reduced mortality and the need for intensive care in COVID patients in grave condition.

This is the result of what's called a 2/3 study -which means trying a treatment faster or with fewer individuals than a phase 3 trial- which was conducted with 242 people in 19 hospitals.

The results showed that application of this serum (whose power to neutralize the effects of the virus is -studies indicate- 200 times more powerful than other serums (such as survivor's plasma) and it reduced by almost a half (45 percent) the mortality in severe cases. At the end of the study, 12 of those who received the placebo and 6 of those who were treated with the serum died.

In addition, this immunotherapy reduced the need for intensive care by 24 percent in those patients who received the serum compared to those in the placebo-taking group.

Up to January 10, Argentina had over 1.7 million confirmed cases, and a total of 44,495 deaths. The first case was confirmed in the country in early March 2020.

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