ABU DHABI 17 June 2021: 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 at Abu Dhabi airport on Tuesday night, 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.
Following USA Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorisation, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) issued its endorsement of the new GSK medicine following a national assessment. Department of Health- Abu Dhabi and Rafed executed its agreement with the manufacturer to ensure deliveries as early as June and July, enabling patients in the UAE to be among the first in the world to access the new therapy. 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.
Abu Dhabi-based Rafed will facilitate the procurement, storage and distribution of Sotrovimab via the Rafed Distribution Center – the region’s largest specialised cold-storage facility. The Center has played a vital role to support the efforts of the HOPE Consortium, and is a milestone collaboration by healthcare, logistics and supply chain entities designed to facilitate the ongoing evolution of Abu Dhabi’s medical and life science offering to combat the pandemic, nationally and internationally.
Dr. Jamal Mohamed Kaabi, Undersecretary for the Department of Health- Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi continues its efforts to maintain its number-one city position globally in terms of resilience and safety in Covid-19 times. Through the non-ending support and guidance from our leadership, we continue our daily preemptive efforts to search, assess and source through local and international collaboration, the best evidence-based treatment to our population in Abu Dhabi, UAE and beyond. This medicine is at the forefront of pharmaceutical advancement and is a powerful tool in our fight to end this pandemic. We are looking 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.”
