EMA to quickly review Eli Lilly, Incyte arthritis drug for COVID-19 use

ZURICH: The European Medicines Agency will conduct an accelerated review of Eli Lilly and Co's rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant for hospitalized COVID-19 patients getting oxygen, the agency said on Thursday, as the search for treatment options continues.

Olumiant, on which Lilly partners with U.S. drugmaker Incyte Corp, is the latest arthritis medicine to be repurposed in efforts to combat COVID-19, with other prominent examples Actemra from Roche Holding AG and Kevzara from Sanofi SA . While Actemra and Kevzara are large-molecule monoclonal antibodies, Olumiant is a so-called Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor small-molecule drug that works by blocking action of enzymes that play a role in immune system processes that lead to inflammation.