Monoclonal antibody therapy:
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Monoclonal antibody therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to bind mono specifically to certain cells or proteins.
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A monoclonal antibody is an antibody made by cloning a unique white blood cell.
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All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell.
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The objective is that this treatment will stimulate the patient’s immune system to attack those cells.
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Monoclonal antibodies bind to and ‘neutralise’ the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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This consequently helps fight the infection, similar to the natural antibodies produced when one gets infected with COVID.
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The reason this therapy is termed as an antibody cocktail is that it comprises a mixture of more than two biological drugs (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) that mirror the human antibodies in the immune system.
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Both strengthen the immune defence system.
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This drug is said to restrict pathogens and virus from entering the patient’s body, from where they otherwise would have derived nutrition and multiplied.