(Reuters) – A panel of advisers to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been on the agenda. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday advised against authorizing Veru Inc’s COVID-19 oral tablet for the treatment of moderate to severe hospitalized patients at increased risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The panel voted 8-5 on the use of the pill.
The yes vote reduces the chances of approval for Veru, who is already lagging behind in the race to expand a remedy for COVID-19. If authorized, the tablet would provide an additional remedy option as the disease progresses from a pandemic level to an endemic level. .
Veru’s oral drug, which was originally tested as a remedy for prostate cancer, blocks the protein tubulin and prevents tumor cells from multiplying.
Although knowledge showed that the drug can also produce antiviral and anti-inflammatory responses, FDA staff reviewers said its mechanism of action in COVID-19 is uncertain.
(Reporting through Bhanvi Satija and Raghav Mahobe in Bangalore; Editing via Shailesh Kuber)
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