Europe OKs anti-RSV drug for babies

LONDON: The European Commission has authorized the world's first one-dose drug against a respiratory virus that sickens millions of babies and children globally every year.

In a statement on Friday, drugmakers Sanofi and AstraZeneca said the commission had given the green light to nirsevimab, a laboratory-developed antibody designed to protect infants during their first exposure to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a highly contagious common infection that infects nearly all babies by age two.