China approves first antibody Covid treatment

China’s medical regulator has approved Brii Biosciences’ antibody combination Covid-19 treatment for adults and adolescents, making it the first therapy of this kind given the green light in the country.

The BRII-196/BRII-198 combination is intended to treat mild Covid-19 and “common types” of the disease in patients with high risk of developing severe illness, the National Medical Products Administration said in a statement.

The neutralizing antibody cocktail was approved for both adults and minors aged between 12 and 17 years.

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Brii Biosciences claimed the recent Phase 3 trial of the BRII-196/BRII-198 cocktail has demonstrated “a statistically significant reduction” of 78% to hospitalization or death in non-hospitalized clinically vulnerable patients.

The company, which has two offices in China and two in the US, recently applied to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for the antibody treatment. Similar cocktails from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly are already approved in the US.