China approves Brii COVID-19 treatment in adults, teenagers

China's medical products regulator said on Wednesday it had approved the use of Brii Biosciences' neutralizing 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 percent 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 US 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 November 5 amid local outbreaks, the company said.