The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the approval of a corona drug from Astrazeneca, which is intended to protect high-risk patients who cannot be vaccinated from infection.

The Committee for Human Medicine recommends marketing approval for Evusheld "for the prevention of Covid-19 in adults and adolescents aged 12 and over and weighing 40 kilograms or more," said the Amsterdam-based authority on Thursday.

Evusheld consists of two synthetic antibodies that can dock to different sides of the coronavirus spike protein.

When making its decision, Ema referred to a study with 5,000 adults in which the risk of infection was reduced by 77 percent after receiving two doses of the vaccine.

According to Ema, the protection lasted at least six months, and the side effects were “generally minor”.

However, the study predated the advent of the omicron variant.

According to the European Medicines Agency, laboratory studies indicate that the omicron subvariant BA.1 is "less sensitive" to the drug than subvariant BA.2.

EMA's recommendation will now be forwarded to the European Commission for final approval.

Evusheld had already received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in December.