The same kind of treatment that doctors gave President Trump when he got Coronavirus is now available to treat patients in Louisiana.
It’s called monoclonal antibody fusion and it can help prevent some patients from becoming seriously ill.
According to the FDA, monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off viruses. The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for two drug makers to begin issuing doses of the therapies.
“There’s two on the market now. There’s Regeneron which you may have heard of when the President was ill with COVID-19. There’s another one by a company called Eli Lilly with a long name that we call BAM for short,” said Dr. Jeffrey Elder, Medical Director of Emergency Management at LCMC Health.
The monoclonal antibody fusion is typically done in an outpatient setting. Dr. Elder says the drugs have specific inclusion criteria and are primarily used on older patients with pre-existing conditions that don’t need to be hospitalized.
“This is really an option for patients who test positive and are treated at home,” Dr. Elder said. “If they meet some of those criteria; age over 65, obesity, diabeties, kidney disease. Those over 55 with things like coronary artery disease or hypertension are some of the patients that would meet the criteria to receive some of those monoclonal antibodies.”
Dr. Elder said the best candidates are those who were diagnosed in a certain timeframe.
“We typically look at symptoms less than 10 days and positive tests within about three days,” said Dr. Elder. “Once you’ve had symptoms longer than that, you fall out of that emergency use authorization and we try to stick to those criteria.”
Dr. Elder believes these drugs are a much needed tool for outpatient care in the fight against COVID-19.
“If we can use this medication to stop someone from requiring admission, I think that’s a win for everybody all around,” Dr. Elder said.
If you think you might be a candidate for this COVID-19 treatment, experts say check with your doctor.