As India is battling its second wave, the Indian regulators have given emergency use authorisation for an antibody-drug cocktail developed by Roche and Regeneron to treat COVID-19. The decision was taken based on data filed with the US regulators and the scientific opinion of a European regulatory panel as this will further expand India’s military of drugs to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The drug is basically a cocktail of two antibodies named Casirivimab and Imdevimab, which are synthetically manufactured copies of antibodies that the body produces after an infection.
The usage of the drug at this point where India is suffering from the shortage of medical facilities, hospital beds and oxygen can be very helpful as this drug has shown to reduce hospitalisations in patients infected with COVID-19 and are at a high risk of developing severe illness.
Cipla, the pharmaceutical company who will market and distribute the product in India said that the drug is meant for people infected with mild-to-moderate symptoms of COVID-19 and who are prone to develop severe illness.
Interestingly, the antibody treatment was also given to the former President of America, Donald Trump after he was detected with COVID-19 infection.
The drug already has similar authorisation in the US and is also being used in Europe on patients who are not hospitalised.