COVID-19: What is the newly launched antibody cocktail therapy

India has begun to roll out an antibody cocktail drug therapy for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. A similar therapy was used to treat former US President Donald Trump.

The therapy is a cocktail of two drugs, Casirivimab and Imdevimab. The cocktail therapy claims to reduce hospitalisation and death in COVID-19 patients by 70 per cent. The drug is imported and marketed by the pharma companies Roche India and Cipla.

Each patient dose is 1,200 mg (600 mg of Casirivimab and 600 mg of Imdevimab). The price for each patient dose will be around Rs 60,000. The drugs are a combination of monoclonal or artificial antibodies made by cloning a unique white blood cell.

These antibodies are designed to fight against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. The therapy is effective for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms. The drug is given during the first seven days of the infection when the virus multiplies. It stops the virus from entering the cells of the patient and colonising them. The therapy is not advised for severe COVID-19 patients who require oxygen therapy.