The good news from the Covid-19 pavilions is hard to come by these days. A relentless rise in infections is flooding hospitals around the world. But the results of clinical trials of both drugs have raised hopes for both patients and hospitals.
These are two drugs, called tocilizumab and sarilumab, currently used to reduce inflammation in arthritis patients. Hyper-inflammation, where the immune system goes into overexertion and destroys organs, is how Covid-19 tends to kill. Tocilizumab and sarilumab are more targeted than dexamethasone, which is one of the most suitable anti-inflammatory drugs for Covid-19. Tocilizumab and sarilumab are made from antibodies that block the effect of interleukin-6, a protein that boosts the immune response and has been prominent in patients with Covid-19.
Clinical trials of tocilizumab and sarilumab enrolled 800 hospitalized patients for Covid-19 who needed intensive care. The rehearsal took place in six countries, with the majority of participants in Britain. Half of the 800 patients received one of the two drugs in charge of standard treatment and the other half received only standard treatment (including dexamethasone).
Almost 36% of patients in the standard treatment group died, compared with 27% of patients in the group who also received tocilizumab or sarilumab. In other words, it reduced the death rate by about a quarter. Moreover, patients treated with these drugs recovered faster and left the hospital 7-10 days earlier.
Both drugs seem to work equally well, although the results are safer for tocilizumab which is an older, more available drug and, therefore, was given to the vast majority of participants.
The bad news is that the drug is not cheap and may be beyond the reach of developing countries.
Source: The Economist
