The price of one Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail dose for a patient will be Rs. 59,750. (Representational)
Delhi's premier Ganga Ram Hospital has started administration of Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail from June 1. The new therapy -- which carries a lot of hope for Covid patients -- is a combination of Casirivimab and Imdevimab, and costs more than Rs 59,000 per shot.
The therapy will be used for consenting patients with mild and moderate Covid-19 symptoms but who are at a high risk of developing serious illness, the hospital said.
The Drug Controller General of India has decided that only patients who have Covid-19 Positive test report, have mild to moderate form of the disease, are in the age group of 12 years and above and weigh at least 40 Kg are eligible. They also should have a high risk of getting a serious form of the disease, the hospital said in a statement.
The price of one MAC dose for a patient will be Rs. 59,750.
Last month, the country's medical regulator had approved the cocktail of monoclonal antibodies for restricted emergency use to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
The therapy made headlines last year when it was used to treat former US President Donald Trump. There is hope that it will be a game changer for Covid as the antibody cocktail cuts down on both incidence and duration of the disease, doctors have said.
Dr DS Rana, the Chairman (BOM) of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, "As per the claims of the company Roche/ Cipla we hope MAC will be a major factor in fight against Covid-19 to prevent disease from progressing to further severity".
The cocktail drug has been shown to help these high-risk patients before their condition worsens, reducing the risk of hospitalisation and fatality by 70 per cent.