Mayo Clinic research shows monoclonal antibodies reduce breakthrough hospitalization by 77%

Monoclonal antibodies decreased the risk of hospitalization by 77 percent among patients with breakthrough COVID-19, according to research published Nov. 16 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Researchers from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic analyzed outcomes among COVID-19 patients who were fully vaccinated and received one of the following antibodies: Eli Lilly's bamlanivimab, Eli Lilly's combination of bamlanivimab and etesevimab, or Regeneron's combination of casirivimab and imdevimab. 

From January to August 2021, participants received the antibodies as a single infusion. Their outcomes were compared to breakthrough COVID-19 patients who did not receive antibodies.

The hospitalization rate was 2.7 percent among patients who received antibodies, compared to 10.7 percent among those who did not receive treatment.

The participants' average age was 54, and about 10 percent were cancer patients.