EU evaluates Roche arthritis drug as COVID-19 treatment (updated)

Celltrion

16/08/2021 13:40

(Adds background on other drugs under review by EMA, evaluation
details)
    Aug 16 (Reuters) - Europe's drugs regulator said on Monday
it was evaluating the use of Roche's  ROG.S  arthritis drug,
Actemra, in hospitalised adults with severe COVID-19, its latest
review of a potential coronavirus treatment.
    Tocilizumab, sold by Roche as Actemra and RoActemra, has
shown promise in clinical trials in treating COVID-19, and was
approved by U.S. health regulators in June for emergency use in
hospitalized COVID-19 patients who needed oxygen.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2O64HV
    A large trial in February showed that tocilizumab cut the
risk of death among patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19,
shortened the time to recovery and reduced the need for
mechanical ventilation.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KH22Z
    The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will carry out an
accelerated assessment of the drug, including results from four
large studies, it said in a statement. The outcome is expected
in mid-October.
    The EMA is also evaluating an application for an arthritis
drug developed by Sweden's Sobi  SOBIV.ST  to treat COVID-19 in
adults with pneumonia, and Eli Lilly's  LLY.N  rheumatoid
arthritis drug Olumiant to treat hospitalised COVID-19 patients
receiving oxygen.
    Other treatments under a rolling review in the European
Union include antibodies or antibody cocktails developed by Eli
Lilly, Celltrion  068270.KS  and Regeneron  REGN.O , and one
jointly developed by GlaxoSmithKline  GSK.L  and Vir
Biotechnology  VIR.O .
    Gilead's  GILD.O  remdesivir is the only drug currently
authorised to treat COVID-19 in the European Union.

 (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay
Dwivedi)
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