PUNE: One of the most expensive drugs ever to be deployed against Covid-19 has found its way to hospitals and nursing homes across small towns like Akluj in Solapur district and Jaysinghpur in Kolhapur district.
The drug, a cocktail of two fasting-acting lab-made (monoclonal) antibodies, can cost as much as Rs 60,000. Despite the price, the demand is being pushed up by at-risk patients hoping to avoid serious Covid and steroids during treatment. And doctors in small towns, often with limited infrastructure and keen on reducing patients’ hospitalisation period, are reporting positive outcomes.
Physician Dhanesh Gandhi, with the Akluj Critical Care and Trauma Centre, said he has been able to treat 52 mild to moderate Covid patients with a pre-existing medical condition with the antibody cocktail, ever since its availability improved from June 20.