ABU DHABI — Around 97 percent of coronavirus patients, who took anti-viral medicine Sotrovimab fully recovered within 14 days, said the health ministry of the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, adding that the medication also resulted in 100 percent prevention of death among recipients and 99 percent prevention of admission to ICU.

The latest data on the use of Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment delivered through intravenous therapy, comes out after the UAE health ministry in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health announced the treatment result of Sotrovimab in treating mild to moderate COVID-19 cases among high-risk patients including adults, pregnant women and children aged 12 and above who are at risk of progressing to severe symptoms and meet other relevant criteria.

According to the ministry, Sotrovimab was administered to 6,175 patients with COVID-19 in Abu Dhabi between June 30 and July 13. About 52 percent of the patients were aged 50 or above, and almost all recipients had multiple comorbidities including obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The UAE health ministry has approved the use of Sotrovimab, which is produced by global biopharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), after conducting the local evaluation. It has also been approved for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The UAE was one of the first countries in the world to receive a shipment of Sotrovimab in mid-June, following an agreement between the Abu Dhabi Health Department, Rafed, a leading group purchasing organization, GSK and Etihad Cargo. — SG