| It was inevitable. Viruses mutate to survive, and the cunning coronavirus is no different. To date, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified five variants of concern that are already spreading in the U.S. that are already spreading in the U.S. more easily and quickly than other forms. Luckily, in some cases, drugmakers had the foresight and opportunity to plan for coronavirus variants. Early last year, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals began working with the U.S. government to develop a monoclonal antibody that would mimic proteins the body makes naturally to repel Covid. Regeneron said it would study a combination of two antibodies. Why? Because two had the potential to be better than one. Mutant viruses sometimes introduce new protein forms that antibodies don't recognize. Working simultaneously, two antibodies stand a better chance than a singleton of finding a part of the virus they can latch onto, and then bind and block it.  Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg On Monday, the U.S. government confirmed that thesis—canceling a deal for doses of a single-antibody drug made by Regeneron's competitor, Eli Lilly. From now on, Lilly will exclusively supply the U.S. with its own cocktail. As hundreds of thousands of people around the world continue to contract Covid each day, more treatments are still desperately needed. And Lilly and Regeneron's antibody cocktails are some of the few tools doctors have to prevent those with early symptoms from getting sick enough to go to the hospital. Their potential use may extend even more broadly, perhaps providing a shield for unvaccinated people who have been exposed to Covid. Regeneron said Monday that its combo therapy significantly helped reduce the risk of symptomatic Covid among household contacts of infected people. That suggests the drug could work almost like an instant vaccine, providing a quick dose of antibodies to stave off illness. That's a welcome development, particularly when vaccine hesitancy remains high—and those who do get Pfizer, Moderna and Jonhnson & Johnson shots, among others, may not be protected against future variants. Two antibodies may be better than one, but in the effort to curb the pandemic, the more tools at our disposal, the merrier.—Riley Griffin | 
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