COVID-19: First patient treated with antibody cocktail discharged in India
Faridabad : First coronavirus-patient treated with monoclonal antibodies cocktail in India has been discharged from a hospital in Haryana on Wednesday. He was administered the jab on Tuesday.
The patient, an 82-year-old man with multiple comorbidities, went home after getting the jab at Medanta Hospital, the hospital chairman Dr Naresh Trehan said.
Monoclonal antibodies cocktail makes a person's immune system capable of fighting off viruses and other harmful pathogens. A similar cocktail was given to the US President Donald Trump when he had tested positive for coronavirus.
The monoclonal antibodies cocktail has been used extensively in the US and Europe, Dr Trehan told news agency ANI. "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 said.
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."
Dr Trehan said they will continue to monitor the patient who went home today after the monoclonal antibodies cocktail treatment. "...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.
"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.
Cipla and Roche India have launched an antibody cocktail in India for treating mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. 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.
