EUROPEAN DRUG REGULATOR BEGINS EVALUATION OF DRUG TO TREAT SEVERE COVID-19 PATIENTS

Mon 16 August 2021:

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) began evaluating an anti-inflammatory drug that can be potentially used to treat severe COVID-19 cases, the regulator announced Monday.

“EMA has started evaluating the anti-inflammatory medicine RoActemra (tocilizumab) to extend its use to include treatment of hospitalised adult patients with severe COVID-19 who are already receiving treatment with corticosteroids and require extra oxygen or mechanical ventilation (breathing assisted by a machine),” the statement said.

The drug, first authorized in the European Union in 2009, has the ability to block the action of a substance produced by the body’s immune system in response to inflammation, according to the EMA.

The regulator will now carry out an accelerated assessment of the submitted data from four randomized studies of patients with severe cases of COVID-19 before making a judgment. It will be then further passed with possible recommendations to the European Commission to be legally approved for use in the EU member states.

The results of the evaluation are expected to be released by mid-October, the EMA said.

-Sputnik | File Photo

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