Abu Dhabi First Globally to Receive Revolutionary Anti-Covid Drug

The world’s newest anti-viral treatment for COVID-19, Sotrovimab, is now available for early treatment of certain categories COVID-19 patients in the UAE.

This follows a landmark agreement between the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, the country’s group purchasing organization Rafed, and global innovative biopharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

With the arrival of the first shipment made by Etihad Cargo's PharmaLife service at Abu Dhabi airport, Abu Dhabi become the first location globally 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 hospitalization and death in 85% of early selected treatment cases and can work on all known variations to date.

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As the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi finalizes a coherent framework to determine eligibility for Sotrovimab treatment, Etihad Cargo has transported the first batch of Sotrovimab into the UAE utilizing its IATA CEIV-certified PharmaLife product.

Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “This achievement further elevates Abu Dhabi’s leading position in the fight against COVID-19, and firmly illustrates the combined capabilities of those entities at the forefront of the capital’s mission.

"As the UAE’s national carrier, Etihad has played a critical role facilitating the transportation of vaccines and medical supplies to and from the UAE with its specialist pharmaceutical logistics solution."

Abu Dhabi-based Rafed will facilitate the procurement, storage and distribution of Sotrovimab via the Rafed Distribution Center - the Region’s largest specialized 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.

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