Life-saving treatments for people with severe covid-19 are still few, bNew results from a major ongoing trial in the UK have found that there is a The arthritis drug called tocilizumab can significantly reduce the risk of death in hospitalized patients, especially when combined with steroid treatment.
RECOVERY The study – led by researchers at Oxford University in the UK – tested potential candidates for severe covid-19 treatment from March 2020, with over 36,000 participants enrolled to date. Their discoveries were some of the first demonstrate The fact that the steroid dexamethasone provided a modest but real life-saving benefit to hospital patients in need of oxygen support. The study also helped rule out promising treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and the HIV lopinavir-ritonavir cocktail.
The tocilizumab RECOVERY arm involved 2,022 patients randomized to receive the drug in addition to standard care, who were then compared to a similarly sized group of patients who received only standard care. Soon in this study, which began in April 2020, steroids became a standard treatment; as a result, 82% of patients also received steroids medications as well.
According to the results, freed Thursday as prepress on MedRxiv, tocilizumab had a modest but clinically significant effect on decreased mortality. In the treatment group, 29% of patients died within 28 days, compared with 33% of patients patients in the control group. People who received tocilizumab were also more likely to be discharged from the hospital within 28 days (54% vs. 47%). In reality-in global terms, the drug would be expected to save one in 25 patients who took This one.
G / O Media may receive a commission
Although some previous research has found no benefit or benefit from using tocilizumab, the RECOVERY study is by far the largest study to date to test its effectiveness, the authors noted. Win combination with steroid treatment, they estimated that these drugs could reduce the risk of mortality by one-third for patients with sustained oxygen. and half for people with fans.
“Previous studies with tocilizumab showed mixed results and it was not clear which patients could benefit from treatment. We now know that the benefits of tocilizumab extend to all COVID patients with low oxygen levels and significant inflammation. The dual impact of dexamethasone plus tocilizumab is impressive and very welcome, ”said Peter Horby, an emerging infectious disease researcher at Oxford and lead co-investigator for RECOVERY, in a statement released by the university.
Tocilizumab is a laboratory monoclonal antibody designed to reduce the hyperactive immune system – a common feature of severe covid-19. Unlike dexamethasone, which also suppresses the immune system, tocilizumab is still patented by the pharmaceutical company Roche and is much more expensive per dose. So this can affect how much countries or patients will have access to the drug.
However, given the continuing need for reliable options, tocilizumab seems ready to be part of the toolkit for physicians treating these critical cases. And there may be even more treatments. Another antibody-based arthritis drug called sarilumab demonstrated a similar promise of saving lives while the FDA earlier this week authorised emergency use of an antibody cocktail developed by Eli Lilly for people at high risk of severe illness and hospitalization. In the US, there are still over 70,000 patients currently hospitalized with covid-19.
RECOVERY researchers are still testing several other drugs, including aspirin and two antibody-based drugs. They also intend to present their preliminary findings on tocilizumab to a peer-reviewed journal.