Japan grants approval to Roche's antibody cocktail treatment for COVID-19

Japan has approved the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Roche's antibody treatment for COVID-19 in the country after India. According to information from Japan's Ministry of health, labour, and welfare, Japan is confirmed to be the "first country" to grant approval to the breakthrough treatment process.

Roche's antibody cocktail 'Casirivimab and Imdevimab' treatment, formally known as Ronapreve antibody treatment for COVID-19, was first created by a Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche in collaboration with US-based BioPharma Regeneron. The trials of the disease have proven effective to reduce serious illness among patients and treat mild symptoms of COVID-19.

India approved Roche's cocktail treatment in May

India approved the EUA of Roche's cocktail treatment earlier in May 2021, as a measure to cope with the massive second wave of coronavirus that hit the country. The decision was taken based on data filed with the U.S. regulators and the scientific opinion of a European regulatory panel. Confirming the news, Roche Pharma India MD V Simpson Emmanuel said, "With the increasing number of COVID-19 infections in India, Roche is committed to doing everything we can to minimize hospitalizations and ease pressure on healthcare systems," He added, "This is where neutralizing antibody cocktails like Casirivimab and Imdevimab can play a role in the fight against COVID-19 and treatment of high-risk patients before their condition worsens."

The antibody cocktail is administered for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease 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 are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease.

The drug already has similar authorization in the United States and is used in European non-hospitalized patients. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had taken the drug when he contracted the disease last year.

What is Roche's antibody cocktail?

It is a cocktail of two antibodies, 'casirivimab' and 'imdevimab,' and is used for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients. The monoclonal antibodies — or laboratory-made proteins mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses. Both are specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, designed to block the virus’s attachment and infusion into human cells. “Due to the specific engineering of two neutralising antibodies, which bind to different parts of the virus spike, the cocktail remains efficacious against widest spread variants and reduces the risk of losing its neutralisation potency against new emerging variants,” Roche said in a statement.

(Input from several agencies)