A ‘bridge to a vaccine’: The race to roll out antibody-based Covid-19 drugs

Studies of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been touted by President Trump, have not conclusively shown an effect against Covid-19. Plasma transfusions, which deliver antibodies from blood donated by recovered Covid-19 patients, are undergoing trials in a few hospitals, but remain in short supply. In the meantime, a growing number of pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to roll out what will likely be the first generation of drugs specific to Covid-19.