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Today’s first Virtual #RegeneronISEF session is on fighting #COVID19 with #science, moderated by @ScienceNews’s @NancyShute & featuring @Regeneron scientists Christos Kyratsous, Leah Lipsich, & Serge Monpoeho. https://bit.ly/3bhTWM3 ">https://bit.ly/3bhTWM3&q...
Christos Kyratsous is the Vice President of Research, Infectious Diseases and Viral Vector Technologies. #RegeneronISEF
Leah Lipsich is the Vice President of Strategic Program Direction, Global Development. #RegeneronISEF
Serge Monpoeho is the Senior Director, Quality Control and Chief Virologist. #RegeneronISEF
Thrilled to have these @Regeneron scientists with us today & hear about the exciting work they& #39;re doing to combat #COVID19!
Q: When did you first realize that this particular virus was going to become a global threat? #RegeneronISEF
Leah Lipsich: In January we started seeing reports about the coronavirus. We started getting concerned & marshaled our resources in research & development to be prepare, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. #RegeneronISEF
Q: One of things you& #39;re looking closely at is a treatment that @Regeneron developed for Ebola virus. How might that have the possibility for treating a completely different virus? #RegeneronISEF
Christos Kyratsous: Although the viruses are different from one another, we& #39;re using the same technologies that we& #39;ve applied before, which gives us confidence that we can do it again. #RegeneronISEF
Q: Antibodies are something we have in our body that fights viruses. But you& #39;re making a customized antibody. How& #39;s that different from the antibodies that we have in ourselves? #RegeneronISEF
Christos Kyratsous: When humans are infected, their immune systems react by making antibodies. We’re mimicking the exact same process in humanized mice & selecting the most potent antibodies out of those. #RegeneronISEF
Leah Lipsich on drug trials that fail: It& #39;s very important that you learn even in a study that gives disappointing results. You learn what to do with that data & move it on to the next step. Even a disappointing result tells you a lot. #RegeneronISEF
