Amid the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of novel Coronavirus, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has approved the emergency use of a highly effective new treatment for COVID-19. With this development, the UAE has become the first country in the world to license as well as enable the immediate use of antibody medicine to treat patients after the emergency use authorisation granted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Developed by the world's leading healthcare company GSK, the new treatment named "Sotrovimab (Vir-7831)" helps in reducing hospitalisation for more than 24 hours and fatalities by approximately 85% when given to patients as an initial treatment against COVID-19.

As of now, the UAE has approved the emergency use of Sotrovimab (a monoclonal antibody) for the treatment of patients aged 12 years and above suffering from mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 and are at risk of hospitalisation or death. According to the pre-clinical studies, Sotrovimab has shown necessary effectiveness as monotherapy in fighting new variants of the COVID-19 virus.

Speaking about the development, Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, underlined that it is a new qualitative achievement in the country's battle against COVID-19 which has been made possible due to the keenness of the UAE leadership to proactively address the pandemic. In addition, the UAE leadership is continuously working to ensure the provision of innovative medicines that are effective and efficient and adopting them in the treatment of the disease.

The minister said that the new medicine will boost the recovery of patients, thereby reduce deaths due to COVID-19 and hospitalisation period in intensive care units (ICUs). At the same time, it will contribute to the country's efforts in conducting COVID-19 tests and administering vaccines to all eligible members of the community. With these successful initiatives, the UAE will continue to retain its leading position worldwide in terms of its proactive and efficient handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the minister added.

"This achievement is yet another breakthrough that crowns the painstaking efforts made by our wise leadership, which spares no effort to harness all capabilities and resources to protect the health of UAE people and safeguard the country’s gains achieved over the course of the past years at all levels," Al Owais noted.

In this regard, the minister stressed the importance of strategic collaborations between the country's health sector, private medical and pharmaceutical sector, and international research institutions along with reliance on science and innovation in the management of the pandemic crisis. This has emerged as one of the biggest lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the UAE has excelled by successfully handling the global health crisis.

Al Owais asserted that the development of innovative treatments and solutions with the aim of providing crucial healthcare services to people in need, especially during pandemics, has helped world governments in addressing health crises more efficiently and effectively.

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Salim Al Olama, Under-Secretary at Ministry of Health and Prevention, noted that the MoHAP's strategy has prioritised utilising promising new technologies such as testing, vaccines and other treatments in the national efforts to combat COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic in the country.

He also lauded the partnership between the MoHAP and GSK which helped in the smooth process of early access to the technology by easing licensing, shipments, training and new guidelines for doctors. Al Olama further noted that the new guidelines have been implemented to guide doctors on the appropriate use of Sotrovimab and to direct patients about the availability of the medicines across designated centres in the country.

Al Olama also hailed the UAE's proactive efforts in approving and registering global innovative medicines in accordance with an innovative mechanism specially designed to evaluate and approve first-of-its-kind medicines in the country. He added that the Sotrovimab medicine was licensed with the implementation of Law No. 8 of 2019 on Medical Products, Pharmacy Profession and Pharmaceutical Establishments.

Notably, the UAE has become the world's first country to license and bring GSK treatments into use to treat COVID-19 disease. This development has been facilitated by the long-established strategic partnership between the UAE and GSK as well as the healthcare company's confidence in the country's global position.

It also reflects the UAE's clear vision and firm belief that the pandemic could be effectively tackled through broad international solidarity and cooperation along with strengthening the quality and productivity of public health systems, global infrastructure, and logistical capabilities.

The UAE has approved a number of new medicines after they have demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of new variants of COVID-19. These medicines will accelerate the recovery of infected patients and reduce deaths among COVID-19 cases.

Furthermore, it will prove to be a turning point as the UAE makes noticeable progress in the fight against COVID-19 through the provision of necessary vaccines and treatments. As of now, the UAE is witnessing positive outcomes of its efforts with an increase in COVID-19 recoveries and a significant decrease in deaths due to the virus.

Gizern Akalin, Managing Director and Vice President of Dubai-based GSK Gulf, also expressed the company's commitment towards bringing the best scientific technologies to patients in the region.

"We are working in close partnership with the MoHAP to ensure that our innovative medicines and vaccines are available to the patients who need them, a mission that has taken on new urgency during the pandemic," Akalin added.

WAM