Roche’s Arthritis Drug Reduces COVID-19 Deaths in UK Trial

Roche’s anti-inflammatory drug Actemra (tocilizumab) has been shown to reduce COVID-19-related deaths in the UK’s RECOVERY trial of multiple potential treatments.

The Actemra trial involved 4,116 participants, with 2,022 patients given the drug and the remainder given the standard care. Within 28 days, 29 percent in those in the Actemra cohort died vs. 33 percent in the standard care group.

Treatment with Actemra also increased the probability of being discharged from the hospital within 28 days, from 47 percent to 54 percent. But Actemra did not appear to reduce the chance of getting off mechanical ventilation once it began, according to results posted on the pre-print server medRXiv.

“Previous trials of tocilizumab had shown mixed results, and it was unclear which patients might benefit from the treatment,” said Peter Horby, RECOVERY’s joint chief investigator from Oxford University. “We now know that the benefits of tocilizumab extend to all COVID patients with low oxygen levels and significant inflammation,” he said.

The RECOVERY trial is also evalualting Eli Lilly’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant (baricitinib).

Read the study report here: bit.ly/3tUpRN6. ― Jason Scott