New Antibody Drug Combination for COVID-19 Developed

Antibody treatment may a better option for severely affected COVID-19 patients, report experts panel.

The World Health Organization’s Guideline Development Group panel of international experts, recommendations in the British Journal of Medicine, BMJ , say a treatment that contains antibodies such as imdevimab, casirivimab, could probably do good for two specific categories of COVID-19 patients. Patients who might be at the risk of hospitalization would be the first category and those who are in critical illness because of COVID-19 and without having developed any reasonable number of antibodies against the virus would be the second category.

COVID in Children | Guidelines for Management of COVID-19 in Children
Covid-19 virus has affected many children during the second wave. Many factors play a role in COVID in children and the management of COVID in children. Therefore, it is highly essential for parents to know and understand the symptoms in children.

‘Imdevimab and casirivimab the monoclonal antibodies drug combination could be a groundbreaking discovery in COVID-19 treatment.’

Tweet it Now

The first recommendation is for the high-risk category of people who are not vaccinated, immune suppressed, and older COVID-19 patients. For these patients, the combination of imdevimab and casirivimab can reduce the duration of the symptoms and also eliminate the risks of hospitalization.

The second recommendation of the imdevimab and casirivimab drug-combo is to reduce the risks of deaths in patients who are critically ill and avoid the need for mechanical ventilation in severely ill patients.

Is the Antibody Drug Available and Affordable For All?

COVID-19 Delays Colorectal Cancer Screening Interventions
COVID-19 pandemic delayed the timely screening interventions in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, by more than 40% leading to end stage suffering in CRC patients

The antibody treatment is not meant for any other cases except the above two mentioned category.

The ability of the virus to infect the cells is neutralized with the combination of the two antibodies, casirivimab and indevimab that bind together with the spike protein found in the SARS-CoV- 2.

Curb for HCQ and Ivermectin to Treat COVID-19 Patients
The permission to use the drugs HCQ and ivermectin for treating COVID-19 patients is revoked by the Indian Council of Medical Research – ICMR.

The experts acknowledge that the cost of the treatment and the availability of the resources in the varied hospitals may be a limiting factor for the lower and middle-class segment to be benefited. For instance, to identify the patients who are seriously ill, special tests must be conducted, and intravenous treatment procedures are to be followed using appropriate equipment.

Careful monitoring of the patients during the treatment to keep allergic reactions at bay becomes a crucial need too. When the new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 emerge, then this combination of casirivimab and indevimab may not have the complete effect as it has now.

Preeclampsia Risk from COVID-19 Infection in Pregnant Women
Life-threatening complications are witnessed in pregnant women with COVID-19 who contract the hypertensive medical condition preeclampsia.

However, currently, as there are noteworthy benefits for the COVID-19 patients, the experts say, “the recommendations should provide a stimulus to engage all possible mechanisms to improve global access to the intervention and associated testing.”

Source-Medindia