LONDON (HRNW) — The European Medicines Agency predicted that there could be licensed drugs to treat the new coronavirus in the next few months and that a vaccine might even be approved in early 2021, in a “best-case scenario.”
Dr. Marco Cavaleri, who heads the European regulator’s vaccines department, told a media briefing on Thursday that approving medicines to treat COVID-19 might be possible “before the summer,” citing ongoing clinical trials. Recent early results for the drug remdesivir suggested it could help patients recover from the coronavirus faster, although longer-term data is still needed to confirm any benefit.
Although it typically takes years to develop a vaccine, Cavaleri said that if some of the shots already being tested prove to be effective, they could be licensed as early as the beginning of next year.
Cavaleri cautioned, however, that many experimental vaccines never make it to the end and that there are often delays.
“But we can see the possibility that if everything goes as planned, vaccines could be approved a year from now,” he said.
Be the first to comment on "Possible virus drug approval ‘before the summer’: EU"