According to the MHRA, in clinical trials, the treatment also known by its trade name Xevudy showed that it can reduce the risks of hospitalization and death in 79 percent of people infested with the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus.
I am pleased to announce that we now have another safe and effective therapy against Covid-19 for those in danger of developing the severe symptoms of the disease, said the director of the regulatory agency, June Raine, in a statement.
In early November, the MHRA also approved the use of an antiviral developed by the US company Merck, but unlike molnupiravir, which is administered orally, sotrovimab requires an intramuscular injection every 30 minutes.
The pharmaceutical company GSK assured, for its part, that its product can also be effective against the Omicron variant of the virus recently identified in South Africa.
Sotrovimab demonstrated that it maintains activity against all the variants of concern and interest defined by the World Health Organization, including Ómicron, the company said in a statement released by its central office in London. Vir Biotechnology CEO George Scangos, whose company was involved with GSK in developing the treatment, said the antibody was designed with the idea that it could fight mutations in the virus.
As it acts in a conserved region of the spike protein that is less prone to mutating, we hope that it can fight both the Sars-CoV-2 virus and any other variant that will inevitably emerge, the businessman said.
Although very little is still known about Ómicron, experts believe that it contains at least 50 mutations, and of these, 32 would be related to the spike protein, which is the part of the virus that penetrates human cells.
The still uncertain possibility that the new variant would be more transmissible than its predecessors, and could even evade the protection offered by available vaccines has unleashed a wave of fear around the world, with many countries closing their borders and increasing health surveillance, while Pharmaceuticals are trying to update their antidotes against Covid-19.
mem / nm
