AMSTERDAM : The European Medicines Agency has started an accelerated review process to determine if a common arthritis drug might help people hospitalized with severe COVID-19, months after the drug was granted an emergency use authorisation in the US.
In a statement Monday, the EU drug regulator said it was assessing an application to extend the use of tocilizumab for adults suffering from severe coronavirus in the hospital, who were already being treated with other steroids or required extra oxygen, including via a ventilator.
Tocilizumab is an anti-inflammatory drug currently used to treat adults and children with severe arthritis. In June, the US Food and Drug Administration granted the drug an emergency use authorization and the