Britain has approved a “first -of-its-kind” Covid-19 treatment which could help prevent hospitals being overwhelmed this winter.
The so-called monoclonal antibody treatment pumps the body full of antibodies that prevents the virus from entering cells in the throat and lungs.
Called Ronapreve, it must be either injected or delivered via blood transfusion soon after symptoms develop to prevent serious illness which would leave patients in hospital.
Until now repurposed drugs shown to work against Covid-19 did so once the virus had taken hold and the patient was already ill.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The UK is considered a world leader in identifying and rolling out life-saving treatments for COVID-19, once they have been proven safe and effective in our government-backed clinical trials.
“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 world-renowned vaccination programme and life-saving therapeutics dexamethasone and tocilizumab.
“We are now 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.
It is thought to have saved US President Donald Trump when it was given to him as an experimental treatment when he caught Covid-19 last autumn.
The approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (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”.
The drug 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.
The approval follows Japan rolling out Ronapreve in recent weeks.
MHRA chief officer Dr Samantha Atkinson said: “Ronapreve is the first of its kind for the treatment of Covid-19 and, after a meticulous assessment of the data by our expert scientists and clinicians, we are satisfied that this treatment is safe and effective.”
The regulator said the Government and NHS will now consider how the treatment will be deployed.
Sir Martin Landray, professor of epidemiology at Oxford University, said: “The challenge going forward will be in determining which patients should be prioritised for this treatment.
“Covid is not a rare disease and many people get better of their own accord after a few days of a nasty flu-like illness.
“It would be hard to justify giving what are likely to be limited supplies of a relatively expensive treatment to huge numbers of people who are likely to get better on their own.
“On the other hand, it may play an important role in patients who are at higher risk of developing severe infection and who are more likely to end up in hospital.”
