European drugs regulator recommends AstraZeneca's COVID drug

The European Medicines Agency on Thursday authorised the use of AstraZeneca Plc's antibody drug for preventing COVID-19 infections in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age. The treatment is meant for adults whose immune system is too weak to respond to vaccines and offers a new tool to ease the pandemic burden on healthcare systems.

The European Medicines Agency on Thursday authorised the use of AstraZeneca Plc's antibody drug for preventing COVID-19 infections in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age.

The treatment is meant for adults whose immune system is too weak to respond to vaccines and offers a new tool to ease the pandemic burden on healthcare systems. Infections in Europe are on a sharp rise again this month, with the adult vaccination rate stagnating at a little over 83%. While vaccines rely on an intact immune system to develop targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, Evusheld contains lab-made antibodies designed to linger in the body for months to contain the virus in case of an infection.

The recommendation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is set to be confirmed swiftly by the European Commission, which has the final word on market access, Reuters reported on Wednesday.