The European Commission has selected five anti Covid-19 therapies. The goal is to present ten by October and obtain authorization for at least three
Yesterday the European Commission selected five therapies for the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, which will soon be available throughout the European Union. These are four monoclonal antibodies under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and an immunosuppressant already used for rheumatoid arthritis, the authorization of which could be extended to also include the treatment of COVID-19. WHAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR HEALTH SAID
Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides spoke of a “first step towards a broad portfolio of therapies for the treatment of COVID-19. Although vaccination is proceeding at an increasing rate, the virus will not disappear and patients will need safe and effective treatments to reduce the burden of COVID-19 ”.
Kyriakides anticipated that the European Union wants to “identify other favored candidates under development and authorize at least three new therapies by the end of the year. This is the European Health Union in action ”. TEN POTENTIAL ANTI-COVID THERAPIES BY OCTOBER
By October, the Commission will develop a portfolio of at least ten potential therapies for COVID-19, taking into account the different needs of various patient groups and varying degrees of disease intensity. The goal is to have at least three new therapies authorized by October and possibly two more by the end of 2021. WHAT ARE THE FIVE SELECTED THERAPIES
The five therapies selected by Brussels are defined at an advanced stage of development. One of these is an already existing medicine: it is an immunosuppressant of the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, whose authorization for use against COVID-19 is also being evaluated.
The newly developed monoclonal antibodies under examination (more correctly in rolling review, ie an accelerated process for the evaluation of promising drugs during a public health emergency) are instead four: one and developed by Eli Lilly; one from Regeneron (American) and F. Hoffman-La Roche (Switzerland); one from Celltrion (South Korean); one from GlaxoSmithKline (British) and Vir Biotechnology (American).
Reuters recalls that the European Medicines Agency has recommended using these four antibodies in patients with a mild or early form of COVID-19 before their condition worsens. However, they have not yet been granted authorization on the whole European Union market. THE REMDESIVIR OF GILEAD
The only drug against COVID-19 approved so far in Europe is Remdesivir, developed by the American Gilead. It is used to treat some viral infections (such as Ebola and Marburg), but the World Health Organization has judged it to be ineffective on patients with severe COVID-19. INCREASE IN PRODUCTION AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN PHARMACEUTICAL HOUSES
To facilitate access to medicines, Brussels has made it known that it intends to invest in increasing production capacity, also encouraging collaboration between pharmaceutical companies to quickly resolve any “bottlenecks” in the supply chains , which threaten to slow or block supplies.
The Commission has announced that the first meeting event for the pharmaceutical industry will be held on 12-13 July.
