The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Thursday, December 16 two new treatments against Covid-19: Xevudy (sotrovimab), the monoclonal antibody treatment developed by the British laboratory GSK, in partnership with the American biotech Vir Biotechnology , as well as Kineret, an immunosuppressive medicine already authorized in the EU for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions.
the GSK processing “Is intended for the treatment of Covid-19 in adults and adolescents (from 12 years of age and weighing at least 40 kilograms) who do not need additional oxygen and who are at increased risk of the severity of the disease”, AEM said in a statement. According to the Agency, based on laboratory tests, Xevudy should prove effective against various variants of the coronavirus, including Omicron.
Xevudy is the third treatment for Covid-19 based on monoclonal antibodies validated in the European Union, after the green light granted last month to Regkirona (regdanvimab), from Celltrion, and Ronapreve (casirivimab and imdevimab), from Roche and Regeneron. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins designed to bind to a specific target, in this case the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (the virus that causes Covid-19), which the virus uses to enter human cells.
A treatment used for inflammatory conditions
In a second press release, the AEM explains that the use of Kineret, marketed by the Swedish laboratory Orphan Biovitruma was “Extended to the treatment of Covid-19 in adult patients (…) needing extra oxygen (…) and who are at risk of developing severe respiratory failure ”.
The AEM recalls that this drug “Is currently authorized in the EU for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions. In patients with Covid-19, the drug is considered to reduce the inflammation associated with Covid-19 and thereby decrease damage to the lower respiratory tract, thus preventing the development of severe respiratory failure ”.