The British medical regulator approved the use of Covid antibodies in patients.
Sotrovimab (brand name Xevudy) reduces hospitalisations for people at highest risk of contracting the virus.
However, there are concerns that it might be less effective against Omicron. Omicron is a variant of the original Wuhanvirus.
GlaxoSmithKline approved the monoclonal antibody for British medical regulators for patients with mild or moderate Covid and at high risk for severe disease.
GSK and Vir Biotechnology have announced that preclinical data has shown the drug’retains active against key mutations from the Omicron Sars CoV-2′ variant.
Around 100,000 dosages have been ordered by the UK Government.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Vir7831 monoclonal Antibody drug, has been shown to reduce the death rate for Covid patients by as high as 85 percent.
Monoclonal antibodies are lab-produced molecules that mimic human antibodies — disease-fighting proteins made by the immune system
Sotrovimab was deemed safe and effective by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulator Agency (MHRA). It is capable of reducing hospital admissions.
The drug works by binding to the Covid spike protein — which it uses to invade cells — stopping the virus from infecting cells.
The approval of Sotrovimab was granted to patients with moderate or severe Covid infection.
The product can be used by individuals over the age of 12 who have a body weight greater than 40kg.
Dr June Raine is the chief executive of MHRA. She stated that Xevudy, a new safe and effective Covid-19 therapy, was now available for patients at high risk of severe illnesses.
“This therapeutic is another that has been proven to protect those most at risk from Covid-19. It marks another important step in the fight against this deadly disease.
“With no compromises made on safety or effectiveness, we can all trust that the MHRA conducted a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of all data.”