Japan has approved GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology's Sotrovimab medicine as an antibody treatment for coronavirus, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said on Monday.

The antibody treatment is for mild to moderate COVID-19 cases which do not require oxygen supplementation, GSK said when it applied for fast-track approval this month.

Sotrovimab has already been granted an emergency use approval by the FDA to facilitate the availability and use of this investigational monoclonal antibody for the treatment of COVID-19 in the U.S.

GSK had claimed interim study results demonstrated an 85% reduction in hospitalisation for more than 24 hours or death in those receiving sotrovimab compared to placebo, the primary endpoint of the trial