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Tag: Monoclonal antibodies

  • BMC claims monoclonal antibodies, given to Trump, successful in over 200 coronavirus patients

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Over 200 coronavirus patients at a civic hospital who were administered monoclonal antibodies showed a remarkable recovery following the treatment, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Monday.

    Monoclonal antibodies made news as a treatment for COVID-19 when they were given to then US President Donald Trump in November last year after he tested positive for the disease on the election campaign trail.

    It was described as an “experimental antibody cocktail” that was “one of the most promising candidates”.

    The monoclonal antibodies treatment has proved successful for over 200 COVID-19 patients at the civic body’s Seven Hills Hospital at Andheri in western suburbs, the BMC claimed in a release.

    After administering the cocktail, composed of Casirivimab and Imdevimab, cleared for use in mild to moderate cases of coronavirus in high-risk patients, only 0.5 per cent patients needed oxygen and the mortality rate was also reduced by 70 per cent, the release said.

    The earlier requirement of 13 to 14 days of hospitalisation was also reduced to 5 to 6 days after the cocktail was given, it said.

    The cocktail therapy is succeeding against the backdrop of the anticipated third wave of coronavirus, the BMC said, terming the “successful experimentation” with this drug combination a “respite” ahead of the third wave.

    “Trump was given the same cocktail of drugs after he contracted coronavirus. Since then, his health has improved significantly,” the BMC claimed.

    In India, the drugs were registered with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization on May 10, 2021, and have been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India, the BMC said.

    A total of 212 COVID-19 patients were given this cocktail through saline at the Seven Hills Hospital.

    Conclusions have been reached after the treatment of 199 patients, of which there were 101 patients in the 18-45 years age group, 45 patients in the 45-59 years age group and 53 patients above 60 years.

    “Of the 199 patients, 74 have at least one co-morbidity,” the BMC said.

    All the 199 patients were in the mild to moderate infection group, it added.

    At the start of treatment, 179 had a fever, while 158 had a cough with or without fever.

    Four patients were on oxygen support.

    It was noticed that fever subsided within 48 hours after giving the cocktail medicine, the BMC claimed.

    “Out of 199, only one person had to be supplied with oxygen. This proportion is only 0.5 per cent. It is a great relief, considering the amount of oxygen that was needed earlier for coronavirus patients,” the BMC said.

    In the first and second waves, at least 20 per cent of the patients had to be given oxygen and five per cent of patients had to undergo intensive care (ICU) treatment, it said.

    The civic body said monoclonal antibody cocktails can be given to patients above 12 years of age who weigh at least 40 kg.

    No side effects have been reported in any of the patients, the BMC said, adding the death toll has also dropped by a staggering 70 per cent.

    “This cocktail can be given to patients having diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, asthma and other acute respiratory diseases, high blood pressure, sickle cell, cerebral palsy etc,” the BMC said.

    This treatment is also financially beneficial to the patients as there is no need for oxygen supply and other expensive medications, avoiding the need for hospitalization, it said.

    “Considering the medical manpower, it is possible to provide treatment through OPD and as the duration of hospital stay of the patient is reduced, it will also help in relieving the work stress on doctors,” the BMC claimed.

  • Antibody cocktail for Covid emerges as ray of hope, but cost makes it prohibitive for most

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: A month after an antibody cocktail was approved for treating mild to moderate Covid-19 in high-risk patients in India, some leading private hospitals in the country have said that they have achieved remarkable results with its usage so far.

    This therapy, due to its exorbitant cost and very complex manufacturing process, however, is likely to remain a niche product and not a widely used tool in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

    Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off viruses. Of late, some monoclonal antibodies have been specifically designed to target the spike protein of the Covid virus — they do not let the virus attach itself and enter into the human cells.

    In early February this year, the US drug regulator issued an emergency use authorization for monoclonal antibodies — bamlanivimab and etesevimab — months after the then US president Donald Trump was treated with the therapy while being infected with the Covid virus.

    The antibody cocktail needs to be used only for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk for progressing to severe Covid-19, such as those with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, chronic kidney, liver or lung problems and cancers or those above 65 years. 

    The therapy, though, cannot be used in patients who develop hypoxia or are in need of hospitalization.

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    In the US, the approval was granted after a clinical trial showed substantial benefits to those who had received the therapy. 

    In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in 1,035 non-hospitalized adults who fulfilled the trial inclusion criteria, 518 received a single infusion of monoclonal antibody and 517 received placebo. The findings showed that this treatment prevented case escalation from mild to moderate illness to the severe stage, which requires hospitalization, by up to 70 %.

    In India too, the combination of Casirivimab and Imdevimab by Roche India and Cipla, which can be given only to high-risk patients within 10 days of the disease’s onset, was made available in May end following approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.

    The drug, indicated for use in all high-risk patients above 12 years comes in a two-dose pack with one patient needing just one dose and costs nearly Rs 60,000 per patient and can be given in only outpatient settings.

    Akanksha Chawala, a critical care pulmonologist at Apollo hospital in Delhi, said she had used the therapy in just two patients but the results had been extraordinary.

    “There is not just hype but actual benefit after this therapy,” she said, adding that the cost of the treatment and its availability in a two-dose pack is a big detrimental factor when it comes to its wider use.

    “In the absence of any reliable antiviral therapies for Covid-19, antibody cocktails can be a viable option for many but I am not sure how many people will ultimately get to use this,” she said.

    Anupam Singh, an infectious disease expert in Ghaziabad, pointed out that due to the high costs and complex manufacturing process only a certain class of people may ultimately benefit from the treatment.

    SP Kalantri, senior clinician and a medical researcher at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Wardha, meanwhile, pointed out a larger equity issue related to the treatment.

    “If physicians decide to treat Covid patients with the antibody cocktail, they will not only be treating only rich people who have resources and access to the hospital but they will also be undermining the common good if applied indiscriminately: this approach might divert resources and supporting infrastructure required for administration of the expensive medicine from the poor patients,” he said.

    Thus, the public hospitals — primary health centers, community hospitals, district hospitals and medical colleges — would not be able to administer it to large populations who qualify for the antibody but have no money, Kalantri added 

    “The policy makers and health professionals must ensure equitable access to these treatments — an impossible task given our population, economics, and health infrastructure,” he said.

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