China first gave the green light to treatment for COVID-19, two years after the disease first appeared on its soil and amid an epidemic resumption.
Unlike a preventive vaccine, treatment treats patients already infected with the virus in order to avoid serious complications.
The Asian country, where the epidemic was discovered in Wuhan at the end of 2019, has almost eradicated the contagion by resorting to radical measures: closing borders, strict movement controls, confinements.
And China, which does not allow any foreign vaccine, says it has vaccinated more than 70% of its population using locally-made sera.
Despite everything, the country has been facing in recent months localized epidemic rebounds, which remain incommensurate with the daily reports abroad.
In a notice published on Wednesday, the National Medicines Agency said it had granted “emergency approval” for a Chinese treatment against COVID-19 based on monoclonal antibodies.
Monoclonal antibodies attach to the coronavirus spike protein, reducing its ability to enter human cells.
The treatment, administered by injection, was jointly developed by the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, the No.3 Hospital in Shenzhen and the company Brii Biosciences.
Clinical trials show that the treatment can reduce hospitalizations and the risk of death in frail patients by 80%, according to Tsinghua University.
According to the local press, the treatment was used on infected patients during recent epidemic rebounds.
China reported on Thursday 83 new contaminations nationwide.
The country has several national vaccines with lower efficacy rates than those developed abroad.
Two vaccines from the manufacturers Sinovac and Sinopharm are recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).