MANAMA/KUWAIT — Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday approved Sotrofimab for emergency use, a new drug by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for the treatment of COVID-19, official news agencies of both countries reported. Earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates gave Sotrofimab a go-ahead for the treatment of COVID-19, becoming the first country in the world to approve the drug for emergency use following the US Food and Drug Administration's approval In a statement carried by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) said that its decision to add Sotrofimab to COVID-19 treatment protocols follows emergency use approval by the FDA as well a comprehensive review of GSK's clinical trials. "Sotrovimab-VIR-7831" develops "monoclonal antibodies" and will be used to treat infected adults and adolescents with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms who are at risk of their condition deteriorating and resulting in hospitalization, the NHRA said in the statement. According to the BNA report, safety and efficacy evidence demonstrates a reduction in the number of cases requiring hospitalization for more than 24 hours and a reduction in the number of fatalities by 85 percent, when administered at an early stage of treatment. Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti health ministry said it has approved the drug for treating light and medium coronavirus cases. Dr. Abdullah Al-Badr, the assistant undersecretary for medicines and nutrition supervision, told the Kuwait News Agency that the drug is used for such cases among adults and children aged 12 and above. He has pointed out that the medicine is used for persons of 65 years of age and above, but not for hospitalized patients who need oxygen due to infection with COVID-19.
