India starts administering antibody cocktail drug to COVID-19 patients. What it is, how it works, pricing, and more

COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen support should not be administered the antibody cocktail drug

India has begun administering antibody cocktails to COVID-19 patients. On May 26, an 84-year-old Haryana man became the first coronavirus patient to receive the COVID-19 drug cocktail, which gained popularity after it was used to treat former United States President Donald Trump.

Antibody cocktail drug – what it is?

Roche’s antibody cocktail, which is available in India, comprises the drugs Casirivimab and Imdevimab. Casirivimab and Imdevimab are human immunoglobulin G-1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibodies, which are proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens. Casirivimab and Imdevimab are specifically designed to block the coronavirus’ attachment and entry into human cells.

How does the antibody cocktail drug work?

The cocktail of Casirivimab and Imdevimab can be used to treat COVID-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms before their condition worsens and they need to be hospitalised.

The cocktail drug works when given timely -- that is in the first seven days of the viral replication stage or when the virus multiplies. The FDA-approved drug cocktail therapy reduces hospitalisation and death in COVID-19 patients by 70 percent.

According to Doctor Naresh Trehan, Chairman and MD of Medanta Hospital: “If these antibodies are injected into a patient infected with the coronavirus at an early stage -- when the virus is still trying to multiply -- then it blocks the pathogen from entering the cells of the patient from where it derives nutrition to multiply.”

He added that the antibody cocktail drug has been found to be effective against treating the new B.1.617.2 variant too.

Who should avoid antibody cocktail therapy?

The antibody cocktail therapy is not recommended for patients who have been hospitalised with severe COVID-19 or those in need of oxygen therapy to treat COVID-19 complications. Patients who need an increase in the baseline oxygen flow rate due to COVID-19 and those on chronic oxygen therapy due to underlying non-COVID-19 related comorbidity have also been advised against taking the drug cocktail.

Casirivimab and Imdevimab must be administered only in settings where healthcare providers have immediate access to medications to treat an infusion reaction, such as anaphylaxis.

Patients must be monitored during the infusion and observed for at least one hour after the completion of the infusion and 15--30 minutes after the subcutaneous injection.

How to get Roche’s antibody cocktail drug?

Cipla announced on May 24 that it will market Roche’s antibody cocktail comprising the drugs Casirivimab and Imdevimab in India. To procure the cocktail drug, healthcare institutions, both private and public can place an inquiry by reaching out to their nearest Cipla distributor. The medical product can be procured subject to a medical prescription by a registered medical practitioner.

Price of Roche’s antibody cocktail drug:

The price for each patient dose, which will be a combined dose of 1200 mg -- 600 mg of Casirivimab and 600 mg of Imdevimab -- will be Rs 59,750, inclusive of taxes. Each pack of the antibody cocktail contains one vial of Casirivimab and one vial of Imdevimab totaling 2400 mg of the antibody cocktail. The maximum retail price for the multidose pack (each pack can treat two patients) is Rs 1,19,500, inclusive of taxes.

Notably, if opened for the first patients’ dose, a vial can be used for the second patients’ dose within 48 hours if stored at 2°C to 8°C.

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