The UK drugs watchdog approved a new Covid treatment after trials found it cut the likelihood of hospital admission and death by 79% in high-risk adults.
The MHRA has approved Xevudy for people with mild to moderate Covid-19 at high risk of developing severe disease.
The drug retains activity against the new Omicron sars-coV-2 variant, according to the data.
The UK government has ordered a lot of the drug. It is the second treatment to be approved by the MHRA.
Dr June Raine, the MHRA chief executive, said that they now have another safe and effective Covid-19 treatment, Xevudy, for those at risk of developing severe illness.
This is 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.
The drug works by binding to a spike on the coronaviruses outside. This prevents the virus from replicating in the body because it prevents it from attaching to and entering human cells.
The drug is the most effective when taken during the early stages of the disease. It should be given as soon as possible and within five days of symptoms starting, according to the MHRA.
People with mild to moderate Covid-19 infections and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness can now take the drug. Being 60 or over and being obese are included.
Xevudy is approved for people over the age of 12. The MHRA is working with the company to establish effectiveness against the new variant.
George Scangos said that Sotrovimab was designed with a mutating virus in mind.
This hypothesis has been proven to be true many times, with its ongoing ability to maintain activity against all tested variants of concern and interest to date, including the Omicron key mutations shown in pre-clinical data.
The 114m more Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were secured by the government.
The boss of Pfizer said annual vaccines were likely to be needed. Dr Albert Bourla said that the company was working on a new jab for the Omicron variant and that yearly vaccinations could boost population immunity.
He said that annual vaccinations are likely to be needed to maintain a high level of protection.
Without vaccines, the fundamental structure of our society would be threatened, Bourla said.
