DUBAI: After US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuing an emergency use authorisation for the investigational monoclonal antibody therapy Sotrovimab for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19, the UAE has become one of the first countries to approve its use following two weeks of in-country trials. The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has approved Sotrovimab, which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), after conducting local evaluation.

It can be used in adults and pediatric patients, over 12 years of age and weighing at least 40 kg. In Abu Dhabi, Sotrovimab was administered to 6,175 patients with Covid-19 between June 30 and July 13. More than 50 percent of these patients were aged 50 or above and almost all had multiple comorbidities including obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Ninety-seven percent of recipients fully recovered within 14 days. The medication also resulted in 100 percent prevention of death among recipients and 99 percent prevention of admission to ICU.

According to the FDA, monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's ability to fight off harmful antigens such as viruses. Sotrovimab is specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and is designed to block the virus' attachment and entry into human cells.

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