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UK testing new drug to prevent COVID-19 development after Coronavirus contraction: Reports

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 25 Dec 2020

UK testing new drug to prevent COVID-19 development after Coronavirus contraction: Reports

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Moscow/Sputnik: UK scientists are testing a new drug to prevent people, who have been exposed to the coronavirus, from falling ill with COVID-19, media reported.

According to The Guardian, the antibody therapy has been developed by the University College London Hospitals and the AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company.

“If we can prove that this treatment works and prevent people who are exposed to the virus going on to develop Covid-19, it would be an exciting addition to the arsenal of weapons being developed to fight this dreadful virus,” virologist Catherine Houlihan, who is leading the study, said, as quoted by The Guardian.

The drug will provide patients with an immediate cocktail of antibodies that may protect them from COVID-19 for 6-12 months.

The medicine may be used as an emergency treatment both to hospital inpatients and care home residents.

The therapy may be also useful for those, who had contact with COVID-19 patients, and students, who live, study and socialize in big communities.

If approved, the drug will be available for public use in March or April.