The GSK and Vir Biotechnology created drug can be used for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19…reports Asian Lite News
Kuwait and Bahrain have approved the use of Sotrovimab a monoclonal antibody drug against Covid-19, developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir, which claims to reduce hospitalisation and death among Coronavirus patients by 85 per cent and is also effective against the variants.
The GSK and Vir Biotechnology created drug can be used for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19, state agencies KUNA and Bahrain News Agency reported.
Research has shown the use of the drug leads to a reduction in the number of cases requiring hospitalization for more than 24 hours and a reduction in the number fatalities by 85 percent, when administered at an early stage of treatment.
Meanwhile Kuwait has also announced on Wednesday a $40 million donation to COVAX, the international program designed to help supply developing countries with vaccines against the disease, KUNA said.
Last week, the UAE became the first country to approve the emergency use of Sotrovimab.
This was after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave an emergency use authorisation to the antibody treatment.
The UAE has authorised the emergency use of the drug for the treatment of patients aged 12 years or older with mild to moderate COVID-19 disease who are at risk of progression to hospitalisation or death. In pre-clinical studies, Sotrovimab has demonstrated effectiveness as a monotherapy against widely circulating variants of the disease.
“Such a new qualitative achievement would not have been possible had it not been for the UAE leadership’s keenness to proactively address the pandemic, attract and provide innovative medicines that prove effective and efficient, and adopting them as treatment protocols,” said Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention.
“The new medicine will greatly contribute to speeding up the recovery of patients, reducing Covid-19-related deaths and hospitalization period in intensive care units. It will also support the country’s efforts being made to conduct Covid-19 tests and administer vaccines, retaining its leading position among the world’s foremost countries, dealing efficiently with the Covid-19 pandemic,” the minister said.
The drug has shown positive results among patients 65 years of age and older or individuals who have certain medical conditions and are at high risk for progression to severe Covid-19, including hospitalisation or death.
Laboratory tests have shown that Sotrovimab is able to neutralise the current circulating variants of Covid first reported in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, California, New York and India.
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