China approves Brii COVID treatment in adults, teenagers (updated)

Brii Biosciences

08/12/2021 15:49

(Adds details)
    BEIJING, Dec 8 (Reuters) - China's medical products
regulator said on Wednesday it had approved the use of Brii
Biosciences'  2137.HK  neutralising antibody cocktail for
COVID-19, the first treatment of its type against the virus
given the go-ahead in the country.
    The combination of BRII-196/BRII-198 showed a 78% reduction
of hospitalization and death in non-hospitalized COVID-19
patients at high risk of developing severe disease in a Phase
III clinical trial, Brii said in October.   
    The medicine from a Brii subsidiary was approved to treat
mild COVID-19 and the disease of "normal type" with high risk of
progressing to hospitalization or death in adults and minors
aged 12-17, the National Medical Products Administration said.
    The company has filed emergency use application for the
treatment in the U.S. where similar products from Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have been approved.   
    Before the approval, Brii's treatment had already been used
in nearly 700 patients in China as of Nov. 5 amid local
outbreaks, the company said.   

 (Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jan Harvey
and Alexander Smith)
 ((meg.shen@thomsonreuters.com; 852-39525805;))