Remdesivir endorsed as first COVID-19 treatment in Europe

The regulatory agency says it was granting a conditional marketing authorization for remdesivir to be used in treating adults and adolescents older than 12 with pneumonia who require oxygen.

Published: 25th June 2020 08:56 PM  |   Last Updated: 25th June 2020 08:56 PM   |  A+A A-

A vial of the investigational drug remdesivir is visually inspected at a Gilead Sciences manufacturing site in US

A vial of the investigational drug remdesivir is visually inspected at a Gilead Sciences manufacturing site in US. (File photo| AP)

By Associated Press

LONDON: The European Medicines Agency has granted its first approval for a drug to treat the new coronavirus, remdesivir, which has been shown in trials to speed the recovery time of people hospitalised with COVID-19.

The regulatory agency says it was granting a conditional marketing authorization for remdesivir to be used in treating adults and adolescents older than 12 with pneumonia who require oxygen.

"Remdesivir is the first medicine against COVID-19 to be recommended for authorization in the EU," the agency says.

Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorisation for the drug.

Although larger trials on remdesivir are still ongoing, preliminary results showed that patients hospitalised with severe illness were discharged quicker from the hospital than those who didn't get the drug.

No beneficial effect was seen in patients with mild or moderate disease.