THE Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. on Monday said there are several Covid-19 therapeutics available in the CNMI.
Therapeutics are treatments used to alleviate or prevent a particular disease.
The CHCC pharmacy is the entity responsible for ordering, procuring, and maintaining Covid-19 therapeutics in the Commonwealth.
CHCC pharmacy manager Rodylyn Bacani said that the hospital currently has 400 vials of REGEN-COV for monoclonal antibody treatment of Covid-19.
REGEN-COV was authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August.
Since then, CHCC has received 1,000 total vials of REGEN-COV and has administered 561 courses of the treatment to eligible patients.
The other monoclonal antibody treatments available through CHCC are Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab or BAM/ETE
BAM/ETE was permitted for emergency use by the FDA for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults and pediatric patients, including neonates, with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and those who are at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19, including hospitalization or death.
Bacani said as of Monday, CHCC had 104 course units of BAM/ETE available. In addition, 72 vials of Sotrovimab arrived on Monday.
Sotrovimab was permitted for emergency use by the FDA in May and, like BAM/ETE, is for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults and pediatric patients, including neonates, with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and those who are at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19, including hospitalization or death.
The antiviral drug Veklury, or Remdesivir, is also available at CHCC, with 100 vials received for treatment, and 240 vials already used.
Remdesivir was permitted for emergency use by the FDA in October 2020, the first treatment for Covid-19 to receive FDA approval, for use in adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older and weighing at least 88 pounds for the treatment of Covid-19 that requires hospitalization. It should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care.
More therapeutics are being processed and prepared for transport to CHCC. These include Evusheld, Molnupiravir, and Paxlovid.
Evusheld was authorized for use by the FDA on Dec. 8, 2021 and was developed by AstraZeneca, a research-based biopharmaceutical company.
It is to be used as a pre-exposure prophylaxis, or an action taken to prevent disease, especially by specified means or against a specified disease, in certain adults and pediatric patients, or persons 12 years of age and older weighing at least 88 pounds.
Molnupiravir was developed by Merck & Company Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company, and was authorized for use by the FDA on Dec. 23, 2021.
It is for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults 18 years of age and older with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19, including hospitalization or death, and for whom alternative Covid-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.
Molnupiravir is available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of Covid-19 and within five days of symptom onset.
Paxlovid is the first oral antiviral for treatment of Covid-19 and was developed by Pfizer, one of the world’s premier biopharmaceutical companies.
It was authorized for use by the FDA on Dec. 22, 2021, for use in adult and pediatric patients 12 years old or older and weighing at least 88 pounds for Covid-19 treatment requiring hospitalization.
Although Covid-19 therapeutics are available, CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna said vaccinations are still the best option.
“I want to thank the CNMI community for their overwhelming response to this Covid-19 pandemic and getting themselves vaccinated [and] getting their family members vaccinated,” she said. “This is really tremendous. 93.4% of eligible [individuals] are fully vaccinated —it is really amazing. It really does help our community and helps our health system, especially in the response to this Covid-19 here in the CNMI…. But this still leaves a lot of unvaccinated folks susceptible to this disease.”
She said determining whether or not you qualify for therapeutics should be discussed with a medical provider.
Meanwhile, CHCC is working on getting Covid-19 therapeutics for immunocompromised individuals receiving treatment through the local hospital, Muna said.
