Olumiant Falters in Phase 3 COVID-19 Treatment Study

Eli Lilly’s and Incyte’s Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor Olumiant (baricitinib) proved unable to significantly reduce progression to noninvasive ventilation for COVID-19 patients in a phase 3 trial, though the drug still managed to significantly reduce the risk of death.

The phase 3 study, which evaluated a once-daily 4mg dose of Olumiant plus standard of care in hospitalized coronavirus patients (including corticosteroids and remdesivir) didn’t meet its primary endpoint of reducing progression to noninvasive ventilation, including high-flow oxygen or invasive mechanical ventilation.

Patients given the JAK inhibitor were only 2.7 percent less likely than those who received standard of care to progress to ventilation or death, a finding that was not statistically significant, the companies said.