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New therapies designed to lessen severity of virus for non-hospitalized patients

Clark Regional Medical Center is offering two new monoclonal antibody therapies, bamlanivimab and casirivimab – imdevimab, for treatment of non-hospitalized patients with a mild or moderate case of COVID-19. Bamlanivimab is a one drug regimen while casirivimab – imdevimab has two drug components. Developed by pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., respectively, the drugs recently received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and are now being allocated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with various agencies including the state of Kentucky.

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that potentiate the patient’s immune system’s ability to fight off harmful viruses. Bamlanivimab and casirivimab – imdevimab are specifically designed to help block the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus and prevent the virus from further infecting healthy cells.

Administered intravenously, this innovative treatment is designed to help lessen the severity of COVID-19 in individuals who are COVID-19-positive and are at risk for developing a severe form of the disease.

“Clark Regional Medical Center is proud to offer these treatments locally for qualifying patients, and our team has seen promising results in our patients,” Bruce Kostelnik, DO, an ER physician at Clark Regional Medical Center, said in a press release. “Offering these treatments locally is an important step forward in helping prevent the most at-risk patients from being hospitalized due to COVID-19.”

Patients must meet specific clinical criteria, including: (1) having a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19; (2) having mild or moderate symptoms that first appeared within 10 days of infusion; (3) having underlying health conditions or are 65 years of age or older.

Potential patients should be stable enough not to require hospitalization. Bamlanivimab and casirivimab – imdevimab are investigational treatments and patients must be informed of this fact. The hospital’s supply is limited and requires an order from the patient’s medical provider.