Drug major Roche India on Monday announced the launch of its first batch of antibody cocktail against Covid-19 in India. The antibody cocktail —Casirivimab and Imdevimab — is priced at ₹59,750 per dose.
In a statement, the company said: “Each of the 1,200 mg dose of the drug contains 600 mg of Casirivimab and 600 mg of Imdevimab. The price of each dose will be ₹59,750. The maximum retail price for the multi-dose pack will be ₹1,19,500. Notably, each pack can treat two patients.”
“The first batch of the antibody cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) is now available in India while a second batch will be made available by mid-June. In total they can potentially benefit two lakh patients as each of the one lakh packs that will be available in India offers treatment for two patients,” according to a joint statement issued by Cipla and Roche.
Roche’s Commitment to Combating Covid-19: Antibody Cocktail as a Vital Treatment Option
“Roche is deeply committed to supporting the ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate the deadly second wave and save lives. We are optimistic that the availability of Antibody Cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) in India can help in minimizing hospitalization, ease the burden on healthcare systems and play a key role in the treatment of high-risk patients before their condition worsens,” said V Simpson Emmanuel, Managing Director and CEO, Roche Pharma India.
About the Covid Antibody Cocktail
The antibody cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) is to be administered for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age or older, weighing at least 40 kg) who are confirmed to be infected with SARS-COV2 and who are at high risk* of developing severe COVID-19 disease. It could significantly help these high-risk patients before their condition worsens. On March 23 2021, Roche announced that a large phase III global trial (n=4,567) in high-risk non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients (“outpatients”) met its primary endpoint, showing that Casirivimab and imdevimab significantly reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by 70% compared to placebo. Casirivimab and imdevimab also significantly shortened the duration of symptoms by four days.
Casirivimab and Imdevimab are human immunoglobulin G-1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibodies produced by recombinant DNA technology.
Mechanism of action: Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses. Casirivimab and imdevimab are monoclonal antibodies that are specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS- CoV-2, designed to block the virus’ attachment and entry into human cells. Thanks to its specific engineering of two neutralising antibodies which bind to different parts of the virus spike, the Casirivimab and imdevimab cocktail remains efficacious against widest spread variants and reduces the risk of losing its neutralisation potency against new emerging variants.
Dosage: Casirivimab and Imdevimab is approved at a combined dose of 1200 mg (600 mg of each drug) administered by intravenous infusion or subcutaneous route. It has to be stored at 2 °C to 8 °C.
