Thousands of vulnerable NHS patients in hospital due to coronavirus are set to benefit from a ground-breaking new antibody treatment.

The government has said that Ronapreve, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, will be targeted initially at those in hospital who have not mounted an antibody response against coronavirus. This includes people who are immunocompromised, for example those with certain cancers or autoimmune diseases, and therefore have difficulty building up an antibody response to the virus.

Ministers say that the government has purchased enough of the new therapeutic for NHS patients to treat eligible patients in hospital from this week (20 September). Guidance is expected to be going out to clinicians soon so that they can begin prescribing the treatment as soon as possible.

Ronapreve is the first neutralising antibody medicine specifically designed to treat coronavirus to be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the UK. Antibody testing will first be used to determine whether patients are seronegative, meaning those who do not have an adequate existing antibody response, and will therefore receive the treatment. The treatment antibodies - casirivimab and imdevimab - will then be administered to patients through a drip and work by binding to the virus’ spike protein, stopping it from being able to infect the body’s cells.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We have secured a brand new treatment for our most vulnerable patients in hospitals across the UK and I am thrilled it will be saving lives from as early as next week. The UK is leading the world in identifying and rolling out life-saving medicines, particularly for Covid-19, and we will continue our vital work to find the best treatments available to save lives and protect the NHS.”