En naast Pfizer(anti-viral) hebben we nu een 2de medicijn(monoclonal antibody treatment) met grofweg 80% efficiency.
Snel in grootte hoeveelheden produceren en distribueren is mijn wens... Dus Hugo... als je meeleest...
Artikel Guardian van vandaag;
UK drugs watchdog approves new Covid treatment Xevudy
Drug found in trials to cut vulnerable adults’ risk of hospital admission and death by 79%
Coronavirus – latest updates
See all our coronavirus coverage
The MHRA has authorised Xevudy for people with mild to moderate illness at high risk of severe disease.
GlaxoSmithKline/PA
Andrew Gregory Health editor
Thu 2 Dec 2021 10.01 GMT
The UK drugs watchdog has approved a new Covid treatment after trials found it cut the likelihood of hospital admission and death by 79% in high-risk adults.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Xevudy (sotrovimab), a monoclonal antibody made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology, for people with mild to moderate Covid-19 at high risk of developing severe disease.
GSK and Vir Biotechnology said preclinical data showed the drug “retains activity against key mutations of the new Omicron Sars-CoV-2 variant”.
The UK government has ordered about 100,000 doses of the drug. It is the second monoclonal antibody treatment to be approved by the MHRA following Ronapreve.
Advertisement
Dr June Raine, the MHRA chief executive, said: “I am pleased to say that we now have another safe and effective Covid-19 treatment, Xevudy (sotrovimab), for those at risk of developing severe illness.
“This is yet another therapeutic that has been shown to be effective at protecting those most vulnerable to Covid-19, and signals another significant step forward in our fight against this devastating disease.”
The drug works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the coronavirus. This in turn prevents the virus from attaching to and entering human cells, so it cannot replicate in the body.
Based on trial data, the drug is most effective when taken during the early stages of infection. As a result, the MHRA said it should be given as soon as possible and within five days of symptoms starting.
The drug has been approved for people who have mild to moderate Covid-19 infection and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness. These include obesity, being 60 or over, diabetes or heart disease.
Xevudy is administered by intravenous infusion over 30 minutes and is approved for people aged 12 and over. The MHRA said it was working with the company to establish effectiveness against the new Omicron variant.
George Scangos, the chief executive of Vir, said: “Sotrovimab was deliberately designed with a mutating virus in mind.