Pfizer seeks conditional EU authorization for COVID-19 pill

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European drug regulator says it has started evaluating an application by Pfizer for its pill to treat the effects of COVID-19. Monday’s announcement comes as countries in much of the 27-nation bloc are reporting soaring numbers of infections as the highly-transmissible omicron variant sweeps across the continent. The European Medicines Agency says that it could decide within weeks whether to approve Pfizer’s application for a conditional marketing authorization for the drug Paxlovid. Last month, U.S. health regulators authorized the pill that patients can take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. Pfizer’s EMA application covers patients aged 12 years and older who are at risk of developing severe COVID-19.