On Tuesday (Mar. 7), Brazil’s National Health Regulator (Anvisa) temporarily suspended the authorization for emergency use of the drug Evusheld, produced by the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to treat the disease early.
According to Anvisa, the drug will be suspended “until data proving its efficacy against the variants of Sars-CoV-2 circulating in the country are presented.”
The drug received emergency approval from Anvisa in December 2022. According to the agency, the substance could be used in adults and children as young as 12.
Last month, the U.S. regulatory agency, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), considered AstraZeneca’s product ineffective against new variants and banned its use.
This is to avoid “patient exposure to possible side effects of Evusheld, such as allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious when less than 10% of the variants circulating in the U.S. that cause infection are susceptible to the product.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also warned about the ineffectiveness and risks of the drug.