Hospital begins monoclonal antibody treatment

Drug is said to bring down hospitalisation by 70%

Kauvery Hospital in Chennai has treated a mildly symptomatic but high-risk COVID-19 patient with the monoclonal antibody cocktail that has been approved for emergency use in India. A statement issued by the hospital claimed that this was the first time the treatment had been used by a hospital in Tamil Nadu. The individual was a cancer patient, who was recently diagnosed with early onset of renal failure, and hence was at higher risk of developing severe complications due to COVID-19. The drug used was a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab, which are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the human immune system in fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.