India has given emergency use authorisation for a Covid-19 antibody drug cocktail developed by Roche and Regeneron, expanding its arsenal of drugs to battle a massive second wave of infections, Reuters reported.

The decision was taken based on data filed with the US regulators and the scientific opinion of a European regulatory panel, Roche's India distribution partner for the drug, Cipla, said.

The therapy is a cocktail of two antibodies Casirivimab and Imdevimab, which are synthetically manufactured copies of antibodies that the body produces after an infection.

It has been shown to reduce hospitalisations in Covid-19 patients who are at a high risk of developing severe illness.