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A new antibody drug, Ronapreve, will be available to parents with coronavirus across Britain next week, the UK government has said. The drug was used to treat then-US President Donald Trump, who hailed it as a “cure” for Covid-19.
The drug, jointly developed by Roche and Regeneron, will initially be used in people with a weak antibody response to the virus, British health officials said on Friday.
“We have secured a whole new treatment for our most vulnerable patients in UK hospitals and I am delighted it is saving lives as early as next week,” he added. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement announcing the launch of Ronapreve.
It will be used to treat patients without antibodies to SARS CoV-2 who are either aged 50 years and over or aged 12 to 49 and considered to be immunocompromised.
Eligibility for treatment will be determined by antibody tests, those showing a lack of “Adequate response of existing antibodies” approved to receive the drug, Javid added. Ronapreve was given the green light for use in the UK by the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in August.
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Welcoming the upcoming rollout, one of the companies behind the drug has expressed hope of continuing its partnership with UK health authorities.
“This is just another step in our journey to overcome Covid-19, and we will continue to work with partners to identify and explore several options that can help different groups of patients,” Roche Covid-19 manager Paul McManus said in a statement.
With Regeneron, we are grateful for the collaboration of the Vaccine Working Group and NHS England to help bring this important cocktail of antibodies to treat and prevent acute Covid-19 across the UK.
The drug is a combination therapy of monoclonal antibodies. Ronapreve is given by injections or infusions, binding to the coronavirus and preventing the disease from reaching the cells of the respiratory system – indeed, it works in the same way as a natural immune response.
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The drug gained worldwide attention when former US President Donald Trump caught Covid-19 during his tenure and was offered the experimental treatment. Trump says drug has been shown to be highly effective, with then president hailing it as an ultimate “to cure” for the coronavirus.
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