The European healthcare regulator said on Thursday it had recommended conditionally approving Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral treatment, remdesivir, for use in COVID-19 patients across the continent, just weeks after a speedy review.
The European Medicines Agency said its human medicines committee (CHMP) recommended the drug’s use in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age with pneumonia who require supplemental oxygen. (https://bit.ly/3i3O6Ck)
This approval means physicians can prescribe the Gilead drug, to be branded Veklury, in Europe once approved by the European Commission, which usually follows CHMP recommendations.
Remdesivir has already been approved for emergency use in severely-ill patients in the United States, India and South Korea, and has received full approval in Japan.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
