Eleven medicines leap closer to EU approval

Eleven therapies, including five targeting rare diseases, have taken a giant leap towards being approved in Europe after winning backing from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. Santen’s Verkazia (ciclosporin) has been recommended for severe vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), a rare form of chronic eye allergy that can lead to corneal ulcers and loss of sight, affecting 1 to 3 people out of 10,000 in the European Union. VKC occurs mostly in young children and teenagers with other allergic conditions, such as eczema and asthma, and there is a need for additional treatments as those currently authorised - including corticosteroids - are not always effective in controlling severe forms of the condition.