The EU on Thursday unveiled provisions to encourage the development of treatments for Covid-19, including the persistent and disabling symptoms of “long Covids”, with a view to authorizing up to five new “effective” treatments by end of the year.

With a view to authorizing up to five new "effective" treatments by the end of 2021, the European Union (EU) on Thursday unveiled provisions aimed at encouraging the development of treatments against Covid-19, in particular the symptoms persistent and disabling "long Covids".

This "strategy", via financial support for research and regulatory easing, should make it possible to "authorize three new treatments against Covid-19 by October 2021 and possibly two more by the end of the year" , says the European Commission.

>> LIVE

- Follow the evolution of the situation Thursday, May 6

"Control and minimize the impact" of the Covid

So far, only one specific anti-Covid treatment has been approved in the EU (the antiviral Remdesivir). However, between 10% and 15% of patients sick with Covid-19 - those who report symptoms - subsequently suffer from lasting symptoms (respiratory and digestive disorders, extreme intellectual fatigue, pain, "mental fog" ...). These ailments can affect more or less severely their personal and professional life, but their physiological reasons remain poorly understood, which complicates medical treatment.

"Scientists say it is likely that the Covid will become endemic, a virus that circulates among us and that we have to live with, like the flu (...) We must control it and minimize its impact", observed in front of the presses the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides.

95 million euros in treatment support

For her, vaccines cannot be the only weapons available.

Brussels intends to set up by July a mechanism "to support the most promising treatments, from preclinical research to marketing authorization", in conjunction with its emergency preparedness agency. health emergency (HERA).

This framework will ensure "the coordination of all the research projects on treatments and will contribute to their development", assures the Commission, without specifying.

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> Covid-19: is there really a risk of contamination outside?

> Coronavirus: why can a PCR test be positive one month after infection?

> Are private parties really prohibited with the curfew?

> The English variant would cause slightly different symptoms

> Audio, webcams ... When technology adapts to teleworking

The European executive intends to invest 90 million euros in "demographic studies" and clinical trials, but also 5 million to improve the collection of data from trials and as much to analyze the manufacturing processes and identify possible "bottlenecks. ".

These sums remain relatively modest compared to the amounts invested last year in the development of anti-Covid vaccines, but they should make it possible to "establish a portfolio of 10 potential treatments to combat Covid-19 and identify the five most promising by June ".

"Flexible regulatory approaches" will be adopted to "accelerate" their approval by the European Medicines Authority (EMA), underlines the Commission.