As of: December 16, 2021 4:21 p.m.
The final approval by the EU Commission is still pending – but this is considered a matter of form. The EU drug authority EMA has given the green light for two new Covid drugs. One could even be effective against the omicron variant.
The EU medicines authority EMA has given the green light for the approval of two further drugs for the treatment of Covid-19: The drugs Xevudy and Kineret are effective and well suited for treating patients, the authority announced in Amsterdam. The approval of the EU Commission is still missing for approval – but this is considered a formality.
Probably also effective against Omikron
This means that a total of five drugs for the treatment of Covid 19 patients will be available in the EU. Xevudy from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology is a monoclonal antibody. According to the experts, it can prevent a worsening of the condition of the sick – presumably also with the Omikron variant. The preparation Kineret from the Swedish manufacturer Oprhan Biovitrum AB can be given to patients with pneumonia who need oxygen. It is already approved in the EU as a remedy for other inflammations.
EU secures access to new drugs
The European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, welcomed the EMA’s recommendation. This means that a wider range of drugs is now available. More would follow in the next few months. Only hours earlier it became known that the EU had secured half a million units of newly developed antibody-based Covid drugs – including 220,000 doses of the drug from GlaxoSmithKline.