The European regulator declared, Thursday, November 11, to have approved for the first time the marketing in the European Union of two treatments by antibodies against the Covid-19.
The European Medicines Agency has said, in a press release, have approved the use of a treatment from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, Ronapreve (cocktail of antibodies known in the United States as Regen-CoV), and a treatment from the South Korean company Celltrion, Regdanvimab.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said approval of the two drugs was a “Milestone” against the disease, the EU relying so far on four vaccines. “With increases in Covid-19 contamination in almost all Member States, it is reassuring to see many promising treatments in development as part of our therapeutic strategy against Covid-19, she added in a statement. Today we are taking an important step towards our goal of authorizing up to five new treatments in the EU by the end of the year. “
The move came after Eli Lilly last week withdrew its request for EU approval of its antibody-based treatment, the pharmaceutical group citing too weak demand from member states against other suppliers.
Antibodies are one of the building blocks of our immune system. Faced with the presence of a dangerous element, such as a virus, our body naturally produces it to identify the invader. Synthetic antibodies make it possible to select natural antibodies and to reproduce them artificially for subsequent administration as a treatment, generally by infusion.