London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 10, 2025

UK approves another antibody treatment for Covid

UK approves another antibody treatment for Covid

The UK has approved another antibody treatment for people with Covid that cuts the risk of severe illness.

It's called sotrovimab, and scientists say preliminary checks suggest it should work well even against new variants such as Omicron.

The drug, given in a drip into a vein, binds to the virus to stop it entering our cells.

In a clinical trial, a single dose reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death by 79% in high risk adults.

It is the second drug of its kind - a monoclonal antibody treatment - that UK regulators have approved.

Both sotrovimab and the other approved antibody treatment, ronapreve, are most effective when taken during the early stages of infection. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommends they are used within five days of someone getting symptoms.

Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive, said: "This is yet another therapeutic that has been shown to be effective at protecting those most vulnerable to Covid-19, and signals another significant step forward in our fight against this devastating disease."

Drug company GSK, which made sotrovimab (Xevudy), says it has run some early tests in the lab to see how well the treatment fares against the new, heavily mutated Covid variant Omicron that is now spreading around the world.

More checks are needed, but researchers say the drug targets a part of the spike protein of the virus that has not yet undergone big changes or mutations, meaning it should work well.

Henny Braund, chief executive of cancer charity Anthony Nolan, said: "This is positive news for blood cancer patients, who we know are less likely to be protected from Covid-19 vaccines than the wider population. It is particularly important that patients can access this treatment immediately, if they contract the virus, and there is clear guidance for doctors on making it available."

What treatments do we have against Covid?


Aside from vaccines that are designed to help prevent infections happening in the first place, as well as cut the risk of getting very ill, there are a few different types of treatments for Covid.

They fall into three main categories:

* Antibodies that can target the virus, taken from either survivors' blood plasma or made in a lab (such as sotrovimab and ronapreve)

* Antiviral pills, such as molnupiravir, that directly affect the coronavirus's ability to thrive inside the body

* Drugs, such as dexamethasone, that calm the immune system

Most people who have Covid do not need any treatment and will recover within a few weeks. You may be able to look after yourself at home. Some of the same things you do to feel better if you have the flu - resting, drinking enough fluids and taking paracetamol or ibuprofen - can help.

If you become more unwell then you should seek medical help.

People who think they may have Covid should get a test and self-isolate to help stop the virus spreading.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
×