Octogenarian Covid19 patient given monoclonal antibody cocktail discharged from Gurgaon hospital

The patient who had multiple comorbidities was admitted to Medanta Hospital, where he received the treatment and went home after getting the shot, according to Dr Naresh Trehan, reported NDTV.

On May 5, pharma major Roche India had announced it has received Emergency Use Approval (EUA) from Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) for its antibody cocktail for treating Covid-19.

The antibody cocktail can be used to treat mild to moderate coronavirus infections in patients 12 years and above, weighing at least 40 kg and likely to develop severe Covid-19 disease. It can be used in high-risk patients before their condition worsens.

Casirivimab and Imdevimab are human immunoglobulin G-1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibodies produced by recombinant DNA technology made in the laboratories. They target the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus, and are designed to stop the virus’ attachment and entry into human cells, Roche India had said.

Dr Trehan told news agency ANI that the monoclonal antibodies cocktail has been used extensively in the US and Europe.

"The experience shows when given in first seven days of (Covid) infection, 70-80 per cent of people who are going to be entering hospitals for treatment will not need hospitalisation," Dr Trehan was quoted as saying by ANI.

A doctor at Medanta Hospital, Dr Satya Prakash Yadav, tweeted. "Finally monoclonal antibodies cocktail to treat COVID-19 available in market and today first patient to get it Medanta is an 84-year-old gentleman with COVID-19. Let's hope it helps cure more patients with COVID-19."

However, the patient's health will be monitored, Dr Trehan said.

"...We're going to follow him. Virus multiplication drops especially in those people who have high virus load and also in those who are at high risk of severe infection," Dr Trehan said, according report.

"When Casirivimab and Imdevimab are injected into infected patient in early stage it blocks virus from entering cells of patient. It is working against COVID-19 and also effective against B.1.617 variant. This is a new weapon," the Medanta Hospital chairman said.

In March 23 2021, Roche had said it has conducted large scale phase three global trials in high-risk non-hospitalised Covid-19 patients and the results revealed that "Casirivimab and Imdevimab significantly reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 70% compared to placebo"while also reducing the duration of symptoms by at least four days.

The antibody cocktail has been launched in India by Roche India and Cipla

The price of each dose is a little over Rs 59,000 and a multi-dose pack - each pack can treat two patients - is cost Rs 1.19 lakh, NDTV reported.