UAE to be the first country to authorize COVID-19 medication approved by the FDA for emergency use

UAE to be the first country to authorize COVID-19 medication approved by the FDA for emergency use

On May 29th, 2021, The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has approved the emergency use of a highly effective new treatment for COVID-19, making UAE the first country in the world to do so after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the antibody treatment emergency use authorization. When provided to patients as early therapy for COVID-19, the innovative therapy "Sotrovimab (Vir-7831)" from global leader healthcare company GSK has the potential to reduce hospitalization for more than 24 hours and mortality by up to 85 per cent.

The UAE has approved the use of Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 illness in patients aged 12 and above who are at risk of hospitalization or death. Sotrovimab is effective as a monotherapy against extensively circulating disease variants in preclinical tests.

Dr Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, proclaimed that such a new qualitative achievement would not have been possible if the UAE leadership had not been so eager to proactively address the pandemic, attract and provide innovative medicines that have proven to be effective and efficient, and adopt them as treatment protocols. He further added that the new medicine would greatly contribute to patients' faster recovery, reducing Covid-19-related deaths and hospitalization time in intensive care units. It will also support the country's efforts to conduct Covid-19 tests and administer vaccines, retaining its leading position among the world's foremost countries, dealing efficiently with the Covid-19 pandemic.

This achievement is another milestone in our wise leadership's tireless efforts to harness all skills and resources to defend the health of UAE citizens and defend the country's accomplishments earned over the years at all levels. He further emphasized the necessity of reliance on science and innovation in relationships between the UAE health sector, foreign research institutes, and the commercial medical and pharmaceutical industry. This is one of the most important takeaways from the Covid-19 epidemic, in which the UAE demonstrated its ability to deal with the world's worst health disaster.

The UAE has always been proactive in approving and registering innovative global medicines, citing an innovative mechanism developed to evaluate and approve first-of-its-kind medicines, and that the licensing of the innovative treatment 'Sotrovimab' is under Law No. 8 of 2019 on Medical Products, Pharmacy Profession, and Pharmaceutical Establishments.