NEW
Trump's COVID "cure" - an unapproved Regeneron antibody cocktail - was developed using cells derived from aborted fetal tissue.
That's a practice the White House and anti-abortion rights groups oppose.
On @CBSNews:
cbsnews.com/news/regeneron…
Trump's COVID "cure" - an unapproved Regeneron antibody cocktail - was developed using cells derived from aborted fetal tissue.
That's a practice the White House and anti-abortion rights groups oppose.
On @CBSNews:
cbsnews.com/news/regeneron…
Here's how it works:
- HEK 293T cells are a cell line originally derived from the kidney tissue of a fetus aborted in the Netherlands in the 1970s.
- Those cells are used to test potency. They don't end up in the final product, but they're a part of the testing process.
- HEK 293T cells are a cell line originally derived from the kidney tissue of a fetus aborted in the Netherlands in the 1970s.
- Those cells are used to test potency. They don't end up in the final product, but they're a part of the testing process.
Per Regeneron:
The cells "were used in testing the antibody candidates' ability to neutralize the virus" and helped researchers "determine the 'best' two antibodies, which now make up the REGN-COV2 cocktail."
The cells "were used in testing the antibody candidates' ability to neutralize the virus" and helped researchers "determine the 'best' two antibodies, which now make up the REGN-COV2 cocktail."
That's at odds with how the White House has previously handled pharmaceutical research using tissue from aborted fetuses.
Last year, the Trump Admin banned funding for medical research by gov't scientists using human fetal tissue.
It was a major win for anti-abortion groups.
Last year, the Trump Admin banned funding for medical research by gov't scientists using human fetal tissue.
It was a major win for anti-abortion groups.
Now, Trump is the antibody cocktail's biggest cheerleader.
On Wednesday, Trump referred to it as a "cure" to COVID and promised he was going to make it free and available to everyone who needed it.
On Wednesday, Trump referred to it as a "cure" to COVID and promised he was going to make it free and available to everyone who needed it.
Trump said it was a "blessing from God" that he contracted the virus so he could find the drug:
"I think this was a blessing from God that I caught [the virus], I think it was a blessing in disguise... I heard about this drug. I said, 'Let me take it'… and it was incredible..."
"I think this was a blessing from God that I caught [the virus], I think it was a blessing in disguise... I heard about this drug. I said, 'Let me take it'… and it was incredible..."
Join me tomorrow at CBSN at 1p ET where I’ll be talking about Trump’s co-called COVD “cure” and how the therapeutic he’s touting was tested using cell derived from fetal tissue, a practice his administration has opposed.
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