The therapy had recently got approval from India's Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO).

 

Dr Rakesh Kapoor director, Medanta Hospital, said, "A 55-year-old male Covid patient became the first recipient of the 'cocktail therapy' in Lucknow on Sunday. He was administered the drug by Dr Ruchita Sharma. The patient has witnessed good reduction in symptoms and viral load. Currently, the cost of the therapy is Rs 60,000."

 

Dr Mayank Somani, managing director of Apollomedics Super Speciality Hospital, said, "The monoclonal antibodies cocktail therapy, also known as 'Trump Cocktail', is now available at our hospital. The method of treatment is effective in mild or moderate Covid patients where oxygen support is not required. A patient should be given the therapy within 10 days of testing positive for the infection."

 

Experts said the cocktail therapy was administered through a drug, Regeneron, a combination of two artificial antibodies - Castrivimab and Imdevimab - developed in labs.

 

It has been found that the cocktail of antibodies blocks the entry of novel Coronavirus in human cell, thus preventing it from replicating and damaging the cell before moving on to other cells in the body.

 

The drug is administered in the body of a patient through intravenous method which takes around an hour.

 

The patient is then kept under observation for one hour before being sent home, if there are no complications.

 

The therapy is generally given to patients with comorbidities in whom the possibility of Covid infection turning severe is high.