LONDON (Reuters) – A new ventilator from medical device company Penlon has received regulatory approval from Britain in the first such go-ahead as part of ramped-up efforts to combat the coronavirus, an industry source told Reuters on Thursday.
Governments around the world are trying to boost the number of ventilators – mechanical breathing devices that can blow air and oxygen into the lungs – available to their health services.
Britain has ordered around 10,000 of the breathing machines from a consortium including Airbus and Rolls-Royce.
A statement is due as soon as Thursday, the source said.
A spokeswoman at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency deferred to the Cabinet Office, which declined to comment.
Penlon did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton)
