How And When To Administer COVID Antibody Cocktail Drug

1 Jun, 2021 15:19 IST|Sakshi Post

An 84-year-old man from Haryana became the first person in India to be administered the Covid drug cocktail over a 30 minute intravenous supply and has now been successfully used in various parts of the country. This treatment first came into the limelight after it was administered to former US President Donald Trump when he tested positive for Covid last year.

The cocktail drug is a combination of two fast-acting antibodies - Casirivimab and Imdevimab - is seen as a cutting-edge treatment that provides protection to Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms.

In the state of Andhra Pradesh, Samishta Hospital and Research Institute at Guntur was the first to administer the cocktail antibodies injection 'Regeneron' to two patients, recently.

According to the report, Dr Kalyana Chakravarti and the team administered the injection and stopped using high dose steroids to which both the patients showed good improvement.

A renowned cardiologist from Narasaraopet Dr Karasani Srinivasareddy explained to whom the cocktail antibody drug can be administered and under what circumstances.

He explained that two Covid patients were treated at their hospital with antibody cocktail drug, after which COVID symptoms subsided and they returned to normal.

However, he said that giving the drug within 5 days of infection may have better results.

Using the drug may not have a major impact on those who are severely affected by Coronavirus.

He explained that this drug gives 70% better results compared to the various drugs used to treat COVID so far.

He also said that the side effects of using the drug were at 0.6% or even less.

The drug he used was the one manufactured by Cipla Pharma. The doctor further explained that he was offering two doses for about six thousand Rupees.

The doctor also stated that the risk of infection can be mitigated if people wear masks properly, maintain social distance and wash hands frequently and also sanitise accordingly.

Roche India announced at the beginning of May that the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Roche's investigational antibody cocktail for the treatment of COVID-19. Roche India said in a statement that the approval of the Casirivimab and Imdevimab antibody cocktail in India was based on data submitted for the EUA in the United States and the scientific opinion of the European Union's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

Cipla has announced that the first batch of Roche’s antibody cocktail, Casirivimab and Imdevimab, is now available for treating Covid-19 in India, with a second batch of the drug to be available next month.

Casirivimab and Imdevimab are human immunoglobulin G-1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibodies that act against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to hinder the attachment of the virus and its human cell entry. Indicated for restricted use in emergency cases, the cocktail can treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults and paediatric patients who are at increased risk of developing severe disease and do not need oxygen. Roche has reported that the Phase III REGN-COV 2067 trial of investigational antibody cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab met its primary endpoint of reducing the risk of hospitalisation or death in treating high-risk, non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients, by 70%. (As reported in the Pharmaceutical Technology News website)

Covid patients who should avoid the cocktail therapy

Patients who have already been hospitalised with severe Covid symptoms are not advised to not take the cocktail drug.

It is also not recommended for those who need an increase in baseline oxygen flow rate, have a depleting SPO2 count, and which chronic oxygen therapy due to comorbidities.

The drug can cause anaphylaxis- a kind of allergic reaction. Hence it should be administered by health care workers and with access to immediate access to medication to mediate the infusion reaction.

Patients after getting the dose need to be kept under observation for at least an hour after being administered and 15 to 30 minutes after the subcutaneous injection.

Also Read: Roche India Gets Emergency Use Authorisation For Antibody Cocktail Use in COVID Treatment

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