A drug produced by Pfizer for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, has been approved by the European Commission.
New treatment to cure inflammatory bowel disease – Photo Shutterstock
Velsipity, the treatment used to treat ulcerative colitis, has been approved by the European Commission, Pfizer announced, according to Reuters.
The approval follows support from the European Medicines Agency's expert panel in December.
Thus, the drug will be able to be used by patients aged 16 years or older and who did not show an adequate response or were intolerant to the previous treatment, the company stated. The medicine can be used in all 27 states of the European Union.
Two late-stage studies that showed the drug was effective and safe in eligible patients led to its approval in the EU.
Pfizer said that Velsipity will be available in each of its member countries after national processes are completed, including applications for reimbursement of the drug.
Around 2.6 million people in Europe live with ulcerative colitis, according to the pharmaceutical company.
The drug Velsipity, which was approved in the United States in October, belongs to a class of drugs used to regulate the body's immune response and is expected to compete with Bristol Myers Squibb's Zeposia.
Regulatory approvals for this treatment have also been sought by Pfizer in Australia, India and the UK, among others.
Leerink Partners in October estimated sales of the drug for 2030 at $2.2 billion, according to the source cited.
