European Union health regulator approves the use of Pfizer's Covid-19 drug for groups at high risk

European Union health regulator approves the use of Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug for groups at high risk. 

Brussels: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has formally approved the usage of US multinational biotechnology company Pfizer’s Covid-19 drug to treat people who are at risk of suffering from severe illness.

The endorsement permits the European Union (EU) members to use the drug after EMA provided guidelines on its emergency use in the last quarter of 2013, Xinhua news agency reported.

The EMA stated that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has “recommended granting a conditional marketing authorization for the oral antiviral medicine Paxlovid for treating Covid-19 in adults who do not require supplemental oxygen and who are at increased risk of the disease becoming severe.”

Paxlovid is the first antiviral that can be taken orally to be approved by the EU for the treatment of Covid-19

It is composed of two active compounds that are packed together. One inhibits the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to multiply in the body. 

At the same time, the second allows the first substance to stay longer in the body in levels that influence the growth in the viral.

The EMA stated that it had reviewed results from a study that involved patients suffering from Covid-19. 

It demonstrated that the treatment of Paxlovid significantly decreased the chance of death or hospitalization in patients who have at least one condition.

The majority of patients who participated in the study were diagnosed with the Delta coronavirus variant. 

Based on laboratory research, Paxlovid is also expected to be effective against Omicron and other variants, the EMA stated, noting that adverse effects were minor.

The EMA’s recommendation was forwarded directly to European Commission for a rapid decision that would apply to every EU state member.