Table 5.
Immunotherapeutic candidates against COVID-19
| Immunotherapy | Medication class | Description | Clinical phase/Details | References/link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convalescent plasma | Immunoglobulin | Passive immunotherapy by giving plasma from COVID recovered patients to the newly affected, to neutralize the virus more efficiently | eIND approval by FDA | Shen et al. (2020); Dong et al. (2020) |
| Tocilizumab | Monoclonal antibody | Recombinant humanized antihuman IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody that prevents IL-6 induced damage to target cells | Clinically tested at Anhui Provincial Hospital, China | McKee et al. (2020) |
| Mavrilimumab | Monoclonal antibody | Intravenous drug that antagonize GM-CSF signaling by binding to α—subunit of GM-CSF receptor | Clinically tested at San Raffaele Hospital, Italy | Lai et al. (2020) |
| Lenzilumab | Humanized monoclonal antibody (class IgG1 kappa) | Intravenous infusion that targets pro-inflammatory cytokine GM-CSF | Clinically tested on a hospitalized 68 year old man | Alijotas et al. (2020) |
| PRO 140 (lenornlimab) | Humanized monoclonal antibody (class IgG4) | Subcutaneous injection acting as a CCR5 antagonist that blocks CCR5 co-receptor on the surface of CD4 cells | Phase 2/3 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04343651 |
| Gimsilumab | Human monoclonal antibody | Intravenous infusion that targets pro-inflammatory cytokine GM-CSF | Phase 2 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04351243 |
| Otilimab | Monoclonal antibody | Intravenous infusion that targets inflammatory cytokine GM-CSF | Phase 2 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04376684 |
| JS016 | Monoclonal antibody | Therapeutic that binds to the spike protein receptor in SARS-CoV-2 and block viruses form binding to the ACE2 host cell surface receptor | Phase 1 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04441918 |
| LY-CoV555 | Monoclonal antibody | Therapeutic that binds to the spike protein receptor in SARS-CoV-2 and block viruses form binding to the ACE2 host cell surface receptor | Phase 1 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04427501 |
| Kevzara (sarilumab) | IL-6 receptor antagonist | Anti-inflammatory drug for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with COVID-19 | Phase 3 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04327388 |
| Ilaris (canakinumab) | Human monoclonal antibody | Monoclonal antibody-based drug targeting interleukin (IL-1β) | Phase 2 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02059291 |
| Ultomiris (ravulizumab) | Human monoclonal antibody | Monoclonal antibody-based drug inhibiting C5 complement | IND approved to test in phase 2, by FDA | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04369469 |
| Remicade (infliximab) | Chimeric monoclonal antibody | TNF inhibitor, that can be a potential treatment for cytokine release syndrome | Phase 2 | https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04425538 |