Mumbai : Roche India and Cipla Limited on Monday announced that 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.
The price for each patient dose [a combined dose of 1200 mg (600 mg of Casirivimab and 600 mg of Imdevimab)] will be INR 59,750 inclusive of all taxes. The maximum retail price for the multidose pack (each pack can treat two patients) is INR 119,500 inclusive of all taxes.
In total they can potentially benefit 200,000 patients as each of the 100,000 packs that will be available in India offers treatment for two patients. Cipla will distribute the product across the country. The drug will be available through leading hospitals and COVID treatment centers. The Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) had recently provided an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the antibody cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) in India. It has also received a EUA in the US and several EU countries.
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 and do not require oxygen. It has been shown to help these high-risk patients before their condition worsens, reducing the risk of hospitalisation and fatality by 70% and shortening the duration of symptoms by four days.
Each pack of Antibody Cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) contains one vial of Casirivimab and one vial of Imdevimab totaling 2400 mg of the antibody cocktail (one vial of Casirivimab (1200 mg) and one vial of Imdevimab (1200 mg)). Each pack can treat two patients as the dosage per patient is a combined dose of 1200 mg (600 mg of Casirivimab and 600 mg of Imdevimab) administered by intravenous infusion or subcutaneous route. The vials need to be stored at 2°C to 8°C. If opened for the first patients’ dose, a vial can be used for the second patients’ dose within 48 hours if stored at 2°C to 8°C.