Swiss ease access to COVID-19 treatments with exceptional decree

ZURICH, April 3 (Reuters) – Switzerland on Friday sought to speed access to drugs that could be used against coronavirus-caused COVID-19 disease with an order that allows them to be deployed in hospitals before getting formal approval by the country’s regulator.

The decree covers generic malaria medicine hydroxychloroquine, Abbvie’s HIV drug Kaletra, Gilead Science’s experimental remdesivir and Roche’s Actemra, all of which are being studied for potential use against coronavirus.

Swissmedic, responsible for vetting drugs in the country, also will get new powers to approve deviations from some legal requirements for medicines under review, the government said. (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)

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