Israel is making efforts to expand the use of Regeneron’s life-saving monoclonal antibody treatment and make it more accessible to the general public, Ynet reported on Sunday.

Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Nachman Ash responded to a query by Ynet about claims that the Health Ministry has failed to release the antibody treatment to Kupot Cholim despite the fact that the ministry has already purchased thousands of dosages of the drug, which has a proven success rate in the US.

“I would like to see more people get Regeneron to lower the number of hospitalizations,” Ash said. He explained that supplying the drug to the Kupot Cholim involves a number of logistical challenges but he and other health officials are working to solve them and hope to resolve the issues soon.

Ash added that he held a meeting on the matter with the heads of Israel’s Kupot Cholim.

“I have been pleading with healthcare providers to administer this drug for a long time now,” Prof. Galia Rahav, director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Sheba Medical Center, told Ynet last Thursday. “It should be available for the public and not held in the hospital.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)