(Reuters) -The European Union’s drug regulator on Thursday approved a COVID-19 treatment from British-U.S. duo GSK and Vir Biotechnology and another from Swedish drugmaker Sobi, as the bloc builds its defences against Omicron.
The approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of GSK-Vir’s antibody drug sotrovimab and Sobi’s arthritis drug Kineret come as governments struggle with soaring infections and worry about the swiftly-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The European Union’s public health body warned on Wednesday that there was a “very high” risk Omicron would become dominant in Europe by early next year.
EMA’s human medicines committee recommended using Kineret to treat COVID-19 in adults with pneumonia requiring oxygen support and those who were at risk of developing severe respiratory failure.
GSK-Vir’s sotrovimab, branded Xevudy, was recommended for treating adults and adolescents who did not require oxygen support but were at a higher risk their disease would worsen.
Final and formal approvals are up to the European Commission, which typically endorses EMA recommendations.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair)
