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A new antibody treatment for Covid sufferers that is being brought into Australia by the Federal Government ahead of official approval should not be administered as there is not yet enough evidence to support its use.
The National Covid-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce is recommending that the drug, Sotrovimab, not be used outside of clinical trials at this stage.
Taskforce director, Professor Julian Elliott, said there was not enough high-quality evidence to prove the drug worked.
“Based on the fact it was an interim analysis of a single study, with relatively low numbers, the panel decided to give an only-in-research recommendation, pending the availability of more data,” he said. “We don’t base our recommendations on press releases.”
But Professor Elliot added that he believed it was “reasonable” for the Government to bring in a small quantity of the drug and try to get ahead of the curve.
Sotrovimab has already been purchased by several countries, but Australian protocols require that it approved for use here by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Sotrovimab is an antibody treatment often given to high-risk patients as soon as they become ill with Covid. Various overseas trials have indicated that it provides additional protection to those who are, for example, obese or elderly.
Over the weekend, Federal health minister Greg Hunt said the Australian Government had secured an initial shipment of over 7,700 doses.
He added the treatment had been shown to dramatically reduce hospitalisation and risk of death in adults with mild to moderate Covid-19, who are at risk of developing more severe Covid symptoms.
The minister did stress approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration would be required prior to medical practitioners being able to give it to patients.
According to the Federal Government, antibodies are proteins produced by our own body’s immune system and are one of the main ways the body defends itself against diseases.
Antibodies work by binding to a specific target – for example, a virus or a bacteria – and making them harmless. They block or slow down the action of the virus or bacteria, or they flag it as ‘foreign’ so that other parts of our immune system can clear the ‘invaders’ away.
Monoclonal antibodies work in the same way. They are laboratory-made proteins that mimic our body’s immune system to help fight off harmful pathogens and can be used to help treat people who already have Covid.