The British medicine watchdog has given the green light for using the drug sotrovimab from pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.
That drug, also known as Xevudy, is intended to treat patients who are at increased risk of a serious disease after a corona infection, the MHRA reports.
MHRA calls the so-called monoclonal antibody “safe and effective”. The British regulator concludes that a single dose reduces the risk of death or hospitalization by 79 percent for corona patients from risk groups who show symptoms. An application to approve the drug is also pending with the European regulator EMA.
According to preliminary research results, the drug also appears to be effective against the new Omikron variant, the maker reports. That investigation is still ongoing.