A new COVID-19 treatment has been used for the first time at Walsall Manor Hospital.

Ronapreve™ is used to treat or prevent acute COVID-19 infection. It is intended for people at high risk of developing severe COVID-19.

It can be given either to people already showing symptoms or those who have recently been exposed to someone infected to lower the risk of catching the virus.

Ronapreve belongs to a class of medicines called monoclonal antibodies, or mAbs. These are molecules produced in a laboratory that mimic the natural antibodies that the immune system makes to fight disease.

Ronapreve™ was prepared in Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s Pharmacy Aseptics Unit, prescribed and administered by Ward 3 staff to the first eligible patient on Friday 15 October.

It has been found to reduce the relative risk of mortality from COVID-19 by 20% in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 who have not mounted an antibody response of their own to the virus (were seronegative) at the time of treatment.

Gary Fletcher, Walsall Healthcare Director of Pharmacy, said: “This is another valuable addition to the growing number of drug treatment options in our fight against Coronavirus.

“We look forward to further successful treatments using Ronapreve™ for patients with COVID-19 infection. But we still reiterate the importance of vaccination so that people can either avoid hospital admission altogether or stand a better chance of recovery if they are protected.”

The drug was developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals with Roche and made headlines in October 2020 when US President Donald Trump was given the treatment during his COVID-19 infection.