STA, 24 August 2021 - Slovenia has started using monoclonal antibody treatment for some patients with Covid-19, having received a shipment of 1,000 doses of the drug, which has been developed by the US biotech company Regeneron, as part of an EU contract.
The combination of two antibody treatments, casirivimab and imdevimab, is used at the request of attending physicians and at the patient's responsibility since it currently has a temporary permit from the Slovenian Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The drug is given to patients with severe symptoms in the early stages of the disease.
At the beginning of July, Slovenia has expressed interest in procuring a thousand doses of another monoclonal antibody treatment, Sotrovimab, which is manufactured by Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK).
And today, ministry officials held talks with the representatives of Pfizer on the use of the antibody treatment that they are developing.
Monoclonal antibodies are just one type of treatment for Covid-19 patients.
Patients who need oxygen get the antiviral drug redemsivir and corticosteroids, while critically ill patients also get tocilizumab, an immunosuppressive drug.
