the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Thailand announced the approval of the “antibody cocktail” for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, streamlining through an Emergency Use Authorization or EUA. Prior to this, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also announced their recommendation to treat COVID-19 patients using said antibody cocktail. Additionally, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) , India’s Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) and many other countries have gradually approved the use of the antibody cocktail under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Most recently, Japan became the first country in the world to grant a Special Approval Pathway (Marketing Authorisation) for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 with the antibody cocktail, based on the announcement from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) under article 14-3 of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act (PMDA).
The antibody cocktail, which is a product jointly developed by Roche and Regeneron, is proven to be effective in treating patients aged 12 years and above, with mild to moderate COVID-19. The antibody cocktail can also be used to treat patients who are at high risk of severe or progressing to severe COVID-19, such as the elderlies and people with obesity or other chronic diseases.
Sansanee Lerdlitruangsin, MD., Medical Director, Roche Thailand
Sansanee Lerdlitruangsin, MD., Medical Director, Roche Thailand, stated “Based on a recent research on the efficacy of Roche’s antibody cocktail, results suggest that the product is able to reduce the viral load within the infected patient’s body. It can also reduce hospitalisation time by up to four days, as well as reduces the risk of progression to severe COVID-19, which leads hospitalisation or death by up to 70%. As for the question of whether or not the antibody cocktail has an ability to retain activity against emerging variants, such as Beta, Alpha, Gamma and Delta; despite in vitro studies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggesting that the antibody cocktail is susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 variants, there are no in vivo efficacy as of now.”
Mr. Farid Bidgoli, General Manager, Roche Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos stated,
About the antibody cocktail
• The antibody cocktail is a combination of two Monoclonal antibodies, namely antibodies produced by the VelocImmune® mice which have been genetically-modified to have a human immune system, and antibodies identified from humans who have recovered from COVID-19.
• The antibody cocktail exhibits neutralisation activity and binds to the spike protein receptor of SARS-CoV-2, leading to inhibition of infection of host cells.
• According to in-vitro studies, the antibody cocktail shows susceptibility toSAR-CoV2 variants.
Roche's COVID-19 Responses
As a leading healthcare company, Roche is doing all it can to support countries in minimising the impact of COVID-19. Roche has developed a growing number of diagnostic solutions which help detect and diagnose the infection in patients, as well as providing digital support to healthcare systems, and Roche continues to identify, develop and support potential therapies which can play a role in treating the disease.
Roche understands the impact of COVID-19 goes beyond those who contract it, which is why the company is working with healthcare providers, laboratories, authorities and organisations to help make sure that patients continue to receive the tests, treatment and care they need during these challenging times. The pandemic gave Roche an important lesson of partnering with private and public sectors to make healthcare stronger and more sustainable in the future.
As for the third wave, Roche continues to leverage its strengths and expertise to fight the disease and alleviate the severity of the pandemic.
o Strengths in diagnostics: SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test (nasopharyngeal) for hospital settings, and Rapid Antigen Test (nasal) for home use.
o Strengths in pharmaceuticals: Rheumatoid arthritis drug recommended by the World Health Organization for treating hospitalised patients with severe or critical COVID-19, and the new antibody cocktail.
“Roche also has another innovative drug used for rheumatoid arthritis, in which on July 6, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new treatment guidelines for the clinical management of COVID-19, by recommending the use of said rheumatoid arthritis drug to treat patients with moderate to severe pneumonia associated with COVID-19. This rheumatoid arthritis drug has been widely used across hospitals worldwide during the pandemic, and found that patients have shown positive responsiveness to the drug,” Sansanee Lerdlitruangsin added.