Philippines grants EUA request for Ronapreve COVID-19 'cure'

The Philippines on Thursday approved the application for emergency use authorization (EUA) for antibody treatment Ronapreve, according to Rod Vega’s report on “Super Radyo dzBB.”

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director general Eric Domingo said the drug can be used for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. The recipient must be aged 12 years and older weighing at least 40 kilograms. 

#BantayCOVID19: @FDAPhilippines, nag-issue ng Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) para sa gamot na Ronapreve na maaaring magamit sa mild to moderate cases ng COVID-19 na nasa edad 12 taong gulang pataas. | via @Rodveg72 pic.twitter.com/f718s7OF1y

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) October 7, 2021

“It has to be given early. Hindi siya puwedeng ibigay sa mga pasyenteng severe COVID na, na nangangailangan na ng oxygen at ‘yung mga hirap na hirap na, hindi na siya nag work,” Domingo said in an online briefing on Friday.

(It has to be given early. It can’t be given to severe COVID-19 cases that are already in need of oxygen. It won’t work.)

Earlier, Japan became the first country to fully approve its Ronapreve antibody treatment for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

According to an Agence France-Presse report, Phase 3 trials showed that the antibody cocktail dramatically reduced the likelihood that mild or moderate COVID-19 patients would develop into serious illness causing hospitalization or death.

Outside Japan, the antibody combination has been authorized for emergency or temporary pandemic use in a number of countries and regions, including the European Union, United States, India, Switzerland, and Canada. —LBG/VBL, GMA News