Corona wonder drug treatment approved
Ronapreve could prevent hospitals being overwhelmed
BRITAIN has approved a “first of its kind” Covid treatment which could help prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed this winter.
The so-called monoclonal antibody treatment pumps the body full of antibodies that prevent the virus from entering cells in the throat and lungs.
Ronapreve is either injected or delivered via blood transfusion usually soon after symptoms develop to prevent serious illness.
Until now only repurposed drugs have been approved for Covid and are offered on the NHS once the virus had taken hold and the patient is already dangerously unwell in hospital.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This is fantastic news from the independent medicines regulator and means the UK has approved its first therapeutic designed specifically for Covid-19.
“This treatment will be a significant addition to our armoury to tackle Covid-19 in addition to our worldrenowned vaccination programme and life-saving therapeutics dexamethasone and tocilizumab.
“We are working at pace with the NHS and expert clinicians to ensure this treatment can be rolled out to NHS patients as soon as possible.”
The drug has been hailed as a vital weapon in preventing health systems from becoming overwhelmed.
Trials have shown that giving these man-made antibodies to close contacts of individuals sick with Covid can prevent illness. It was shown to reduce hospitalisation risk by 70 per cent.
It is thought to have saved US president Donald Trump when it was given to him as an experimental treatment when he caught Covid last autumn.
The approval by regulatory body the MHRA came after it found Ronapreve may be used to prevent infection in the first place.
It also approved the drug to “promote resolution of symptoms of acute Covid-19 infection” and found it “can reduce the likelihood of being admitted to hospital due to Covid-19”.
MHRA chief officer Dr Samantha Atkinson said: “Ronapreve is the first of its for the treatment of Covid-19 and, after a meticulous assessment of the data by our expert scientists and clinicians, we are satisfied this treatment is safe and effective.”
Developed by pharmaceutical firm Roche is the first such monoclonal antibody treatment approved in the UK. It uses man-made proteins that act like natural human antibodies in the immune system and the approval follows Japan rolling out Ronapreve in recent weeks. The MHRA said the Government and NHS will now consider how the treatment will be deployed. Its approval came on the day a separate monoclonal antikind body treatment by AstraZeneca was shown to work.
Its antibody cocktail known as AZD7442 cut the risk of developing Covid symptoms by 77 per cent when given by injection.
It could could give up to 12 months of protection if offered as prophylaxis – to protect people against getting ill with Covid.
The new type of drug could be prioritised initially for people vulnerable to Covid for whom vaccines may not work well.