Remdesivir endorsed as 1st Covid treatment

Berlin: 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 authorisation 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 didnt get the drug. No beneficial effect was seen in patients with mild or moderate disease.