Game-changer? Delhi hospital uses antibody therapy to successfully treat Covid-19 patients
The two patients who were given the antibody therapy were a 36-year-old healthcare worker and an 80-year-old elderly with comorbidities.
Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi have successfully treated patients suffering from Covid-19 using monoclonal antibody therapy. The two patients who were administered the REGCov2, designed to produce resistance against the SARS-CoV-2, were discharged within 12 hours of being given the doses.
Monoclonal antibodies are identical copies of an antibody that targets one specific antigen. This treatment has previously been used in treating deadly pathogens like Ebola and HIV. The REGCov2 is developed by Regeneron which is conducting the phase-3 Covid-19 prevention trials.
Dr Pooja Khosla, senior consultant, department of medicine, SGRH said that the two patients who were given the antibody were a 36-year-old healthcare worker, who was suffering from high-grade fever, cough, myalgia, severe weakness and low blood cell count, while the other was an 80-year man with comorbidities including diabetes and hypertension.
While Razdan's oxygen saturation was more than 95 per cent, a CT scan confirmed the presence of mild Covid-19. The doctors administered REGCov2 on both the patients, who showed a significant change in parameters within the next 12 hours.
"Monoclonal antibody could prove to be a game-changer in times to come if used at the appropriate time. It can avoid hospitalisation in a high-risk group and progression to severe disease. It can help in escaping or reducing the usage of steroids and immunomodulation which would further reduce the risk of fatal infections like mucormycosis, secondary bacterial and viral infections,” said Dr Khosla.
According to studies, the "antibody cocktail treatment" for Covid-19 can prevent case escalation from mild to moderate illness to severe, which then requires hospitalisation in 70 per cent of the cases.
“This awareness about early identification of high-risk category in our population and timely therapy with Monoclonal antibody as daycare treatment may reduce the burden of cost on the healthcare sector,” Dr Khosla added.