The European Medicines Agency (EMA) conditionally authorized Thursday the use of Remdesivir, Gilead’s antiviral treatment, in patients with COVID-19, thus paving the way for its approval, which would make it the first drug of this type approved on the Old Continent.

The EMA states that its Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended the use of this experimental treatment in adults and adolescents from 12 years old suffering from pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus and in need of a supplement. oxygen.

A drug that could be billed for 4,530 euros per treatment

The price of the drug in Europe is not yet known. In the United States, it could be billed up to $ 5,080 (4,530 euros) per treatment, while in India the generic versions will be sold between 5,000 and 6,000 rupees (59 to 70 euros) for a dose of 100 milligrams.

Under the name of Veklury if authorization

The EMA gave the green light to this treatment only a few weeks after its examination. It will be marketed in Europe, at a price which has not yet been fixed, under the name of Veklury if the European Commission, which generally follows the recommendations of the CHMP, approves it.

First treatment to show its effectiveness against Covid-19

A conditional approval allows a drug to be sold in the 27 EU countries for a year when all the data on its efficacy and side effects are not yet available. Remdesivir is the first treatment to be shown to be effective in treating patients with COVID-19 in clinical trials. It is already used to treat the most severely ill patients in the United States, India and South Korea