Abu Dhabi First Globally To Receive Sotrovimab

The world’s newest anti-viral treatment for COVID-19, Sotrovimab, is now available for early treatment of certain categories of COVID-19 patients in the UAE following a landmark agreement between the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, the country’s leading Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO), Rafed, and global innovative biopharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

With the arrival of the first shipment yesterday at Abu Dhabi airport, Abu Dhabi becomes the first city in the world to receive this drug.

Sotrovimab is a monoclonal antibody treatment delivered through intravenous therapy. Sotrovimab can be used to treat adults and children above the age of 12 who meet certain criteria and are at risk of progressing to severe COVID-19, as per protocols that have been developed by the National Scientific Committee. Studies have shown the medicine to prevent hospitalisation and death in 85% of early selected treatment cases and can work on all known variations to date.

The National Scientific Committee in MoHAP and Department of Health - Abu Dhabi have worked on the treatment protocols that will guide doctors in defining at risk patients and ensuring that they have access to Sotrovimab according to their risk profile and eligibility criteria.

As the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi finalises a coherent framework to determine eligibility for Sotrovimab treatment, Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group and Hope Consortium, have transported the first batch of Sotrovimab into the UAE utilizing its IATA CEIV-certified PharmaLife product.

Led by @DoHSocial, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline and Rafed, and following approval by @mohapuae, AbuDhabi is the first place globally to receive Sotrovimab, a new anti-Covid-19 medication shown to prevent severe illness and death in 85 per cent of cases treated early. pic.twitter.com/xGhUTXE2Bm

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) June 16, 2021

After receiving positive scientific opinion by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Human Medicinal Products - an important step for the use of the medication for early treatment of COVID-19 across Europe - GSK has submitted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) application to the US Food and Drug Administration and the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention and got approval from both.

Image Credit: WAM