UK approves new treatment

London, December 2

The UK’s medicines regulator on Thursday approved a new antibody treatment against Covid, 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 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 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 have another safe Covid treatment, Xevudy (sotrovimab),” said Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive. — PTI