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Sotrovimab, the world’s newest anti-viral drug for COVID-19, is now available in the UAE for the early treatment of selected COVID-19 patients.

According to studies, the medicine works on all known variations and prevents severe sickness and death in 85 percent of early treatment cases.

UAE Becomes First Nation to Receive Revolutionary COVID-19 Medication — Credits: RAFED_UAE / Twitter

Another First: UAE to Receive Ground-breaking COVID-19 Medication

The medication arrived in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, becoming the UAE the world’s first recipient, the National News reported.

Sotrovimab is an intravenous-administered antibody. It is not a vaccine, but rather a treatment.

It can be used to treat adults and children over the age of 12 who meet certain conditions and are at risk of severe Covid-19 occurrences, according to protocols approved by the National Scientific Committee.

Following the European Medicines Agency’s positive scientific opinion, GlaxoSmithKline applied to the US Food and Drug Administration and the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention to get Sotrovimab licensed for emergency use.

Both parties agreed on it.

According to a video report by the Khaleej Times, here’s what you need to know about the new COVID-19 therapy medicine, Sotrovimab:

KT Explains: Sotrovimab new treatment for Covid-19 (1/2)

The UAE’s health ministry, on Saturday, approved the emergency use of Sotrovimab (Vir-7831), becoming the first country in the world to both licence and enable immediate patient use. pic.twitter.com/BpcHQFd3Nz

— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) May 30, 2021

The Abu Dhabi Department of Health and healthcare procurement business Rafed have secured an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to ensure delivery as soon as June or July.

As a result, patients in the UAE will be among the world’s first to benefit from revolutionary therapy.

“We have been working very closely with the Department of Health and Rafed since the interim results of the clinical trials with Sotrovimab were available,” said Gizem Akalin, managing director of GlaxoSmithKline Gulf.

“The DoH and Rafed have been agile and passionate about accelerating patient access to promising new treatments to confront Covid-19,” he added.

Akalin stated that their collaboration with the Department of Health and Rafed is extensive, getting early access to Sotrovimab so that Abu Dhabi and the UAE residents would be among the first in the world to acquire this breakthrough treatment.

He also stated that there is a great deal of scientific and medical collaboration going on to ensure that medical teams are prepared and equipped.

“We see this close co-operation as another sign of Abu Dhabi’s rapid development as a hub for first-class treatment, medicines research, logistics and manufacturing.”

The Ministry of Health’s National Scientific Committee and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health worked on treatment processes to assist clinicians in identifying at-risk patients.

It assures that such patients, based on their risk profile and eligibility criteria, can get Sotrovimab.

“This medicine is at the forefront of pharmaceutical advancement and is a powerful tool in our fight to end this pandemic,” said Dr Jamal Al Kaabi, undersecretary for the health department.

“We look forward to implementing the eligibility criteria for emergency use of Sotrovimab as part of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to lead an all-encompassing Covid-19 response in prevention, treatment and care.”

Reinforcing the country’s staunch efforts to develop herd immunity among its residents, the UAE government announced a joint project between the UAE G42 and Sinopharm in China that will produce ‘Hayat -Vax’, the first-ever COVID-19 vaccine to be manufactured in the Arab region.

With this development, UAE residents will soon have access to at least two million doses per month of the UAE-manufactured vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

UAE Gov’t Introduces New ‘Hayat-Vax’ — Credits: WAM

UAE Residents Soon to Gain Access to UAE-China Manufactured ‘Hayat-Vax’

“Hayat”, which means “life” in Arabic, contains the same Sinopharm vaccine, which was successfully registered for emergency use by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on December 9, 2020. It was registered in China by the Chinese Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) on December 30, 2020, following Sinopharm’s updated interim results released in China showing 79.34% efficacy, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China witnessed the announcement of the partnership during a high-profile ministerial event in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of high-ranking officials of the two nations.

“The advancement in Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing in our country is UAE’s contribution towards global efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected the whole world. The UAE, with the guidance of its wise leadership, believes in the importance of strengthening collective international action,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said.

Meanwhile, Liu Jingzhen said that the partnership between the UAE and Sinopharm is a huge breakthrough for millions of residents in the UAE to be vaccinated within months.

“Sinopharm has undertaken the mission of fighting this pandemic and thanks to the close collaboration with the UAE, Sinopharm’s vaccine has been now administered to millions of people in the country, the region, and the world in a fundamental step towards defeating this virus. We are proud to partner with G42 in this new Joint Venture that will play a vital role in combatting COVID-19 globally, making an indelible contribution to the health of our communities,” said Liu.

In line with this, Peng Xiao, CEO of UAE-based G42 said that this collaboration proves that the UAE prioritizes the health of everyone living in the country.

Xiao noted, “The launch of the vaccine manufacturing capabilities in the UAE is a momentous step in the fight against COVID-19. We are grateful to the shared vision of the UAE and China, their true partnership and collaboration to make this a reality. This initiative in the UAE is a strategic advancement to future proof the population health of our nations. Our JV is also actively looking to bring our capabilities to new markets around the world.”