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Kidney problems in COVID-19 patients unrelated to remdesivir: EU drugs regulator

FILE PHOTO: A lab technicians holds the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment drug “Remdesivir” at Eva Pharma Facility in Cairo, Egypt June 25, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

(Reuters) – Europe’s drugs regulator said on Friday its safety panel found no evidence that Gilead’s remdesivir caused kidney problems in some COVID-19 patients.

Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, was conditionally approved in Europe in July for treating COVID-19 in adults and adolescents with pneumonia requiring oxygen support.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said to arrive at the conclusion the panel (PRAC) had assessed data provided by the U.S.-based drugmaker, analyses of reported adverse reactions, data from trials and published work on COVID-19 patients with acute kidney injury. bit.ly/2Z8PDyK

Separately, the PRAC also said it was not yet clear if there was any connection between remdesivir and reports of sinus bradycardia – or slow heartbeat – in COVID-19 patients, and started a new assessment for the same.

PRAC started an in-depth evaluation of all available data after Italy’s regulator raised concerns about 11 cases of sinus bradycardia in patients who had received remdesivir, the EMA said.

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