Scientists hunting for ways to adapt existing drugs for use by coronavirus patients are launching a clinical trial in New York to test whether an arthritis treatment could help sufferers and improve survival rates.
Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, and Regeneron, a US biotech, are trying to find out whether Kevzara, approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis, could help reduce patients’ inflammatory response to coronavirus. Many critically ill Covid-19 patients develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, as their immune system kicks into overdrive.
The trial will start at New York hospitals but be expanded to 16 sites. It is expected to enrol up to 400 critically ill coronavirus patients, studying the drug’s impact on their fever and need for extra oxygen. It will also look at whether it prevents deaths or even hospitalisation.
Many pharmaceutical companies have started trials based on existing drugs, which have proven they are safe to take, to see if they are effective at treating Covid-19. The drugs fall into three broad categories: antibodies taken and adapted from people who have recovered from the virus and used for infusions for the sickest patients; antivirals, such as drugs designed for HIV, Ebola, and malaria, which could stop the replication of the virus in the earlier stages; and anti-inflammatories, such as Kevzara, for treating immune system reactions like the one that occurs in the later stage of the disease.
A study in China of favipiravir, an antiviral developed by the Japanese Fujifilm group, is due out soon, while the first results from a study into remdesivir, an antiviral originally developed by California-based Gilead for Ebola, is expected in mid-April. Kevzara is an antibody but was not designed for Covid-19. Christos Kyratsous, vice-president of research in infectious diseases at Regeneron, said the drug may be able to provide some “temporary support”, especially in countries where the healthcare systems are overloaded.
He said anecdotal evidence from studying similar antibodies in China made him optimistic, “but we believe that it needs to be tested in the clinical setting to make sure the data we are getting is unbiased”, he said. John Reed, Sanofi’s global head of research and development, said Kevzara could be a potentially important treatment option across the world.
“We expect to rapidly initiate trials outside the US. in the coming weeks, including areas most affected by the pandemic such as Italy.” Sanofi and Regeneron are working on efforts to develop a vaccine to Covid-19. Regeneron is prepared to scale up manufacturing if the trial shows Kevzara is effective, Mr Kyratsous said, with facilities in Alberta, New York and Ireland.
https://maltawinds.com/2020/03/17/arthritis-drug-to-trial-as-coronavirus-treatment/
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