China’s first specialized monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19 has been granted emergency approval after completing phase III clinical trials, State media reported on November 9.
Developed by researchers at Beijing-based Tsinghua University, the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen and Brii Biosciences, a Beijing biotech firm, the drug BRII-196/ BRII-198 is a combination of two antibodies extracted and separated from the blood of patients in the recovery phase. The researchers found the two antibodies are highly active and complementary.
According to team leader Zhang Linqi, a professor at the Beijing-based School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, the phase III clinical trial which was conducted abroad showed the drug can reduce hospitalization and death in non-hospitalized patients at high risk by 78 percent.
China’s National Medical Product Administration gave emergency approval on December 9, after trial data was issued in October. Brii has also applied to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.
There are several other Chinese Covid-19 drugs in clinical trials.
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