UK approves new Covid treatment

London: The UK's medicines regulator on Thursday approved a new antibody treatment against Covid-19, which it believes will also be effective against new variants such as Omicron.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said Xevudy or sotrovimab is for people with mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at high risk of developing severe disease.

Developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology, sotrovimab is a single monoclonal antibody and the drug works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the COVID-19 virus. This in turn prevents the virus from



attaching to and entering human cells, so that it cannot replicate in the body.

“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,” said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive.

“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,” she said.