Sanofi’s Kevzara Joins Roche’s Actemra as COVID-19 Drug Shortages Persist

As COVID-19 drug shortages continue to plague the global supply chain, Sanofi’s arthritis drug Kevzara (sarilumab) has become the latest casualty.

Kevzara joins rival interleukin-6 blocker Actemra (tocilizumab), a blockbuster manufactured by Roche that announced in August a global shortage of its arthritis treatment due to unprecedented demand.

Sanofi specifically attributed the Kevzara shortage to spillover of demand from Actemra, spurred in part by the National Institutes of Health recommending using Kevzara as a replacement treatment for COVID-19 since they both inhibit the IL-6 receptor and are believed to tamp down the harmful autoimmune response known as a cytokine storm.

In its announcement of the shortage, Sanofi said that supply for all four formulations of Kevzara ― 150 mg, 200 mg, prefilled syringe and auto-injector ― are expected to be limited until early 2022 based on current projections.