- British researchers have just announced that a widely studied drug in COVID-19 therapy can save lives if administered to patients with severe COVID-19 in the first 24 hours after admission to intensive care.
- That’s tocilizumab, a drug the researchers found in November to be effective in treating coronavirus. At the time, the scientists couldn’t say whether the drug could prevent death or just speed recovery.
- The new data indicates that tocilizumab and sarilumab can save an extra life for every 12 critically ill COVID-19 patients.
A report in mid-November said a coronavirus drug showed promise in treating severe COVID-19 during a study. The doctors were so impressed with the results that they had to stop the study early so that the placebo group in the study could also access the therapy. But researchers at the time could not explain how the drug worked. The researchers found that the treatment could increase survival rates and / or shorten recovery time, but they couldn’t explain why. “We don’t know yet, we hope it does both,” Professor Anthony Gordon told Imperial College London BBC at that moment. The doctors hoped the drug would become the standard of care.
The drug in question was tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory drug that was studied at various times during the pandemic and made the news more than once. Some studies couldn’t definitively show that the drug worked, but doctors didn’t give up. This led to the UK study, which shared its conclusions in November. Since then, doctors have finally figured out how the drug works and how to save more lives.
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It’s not just tocilizumab that UK doctors will use in future in COVID-19 therapy, but sarilumab, both of the same class of medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
The drugs are being administered intravenously, while the UK government is already in the process of securing supplies for patients. The drugs have been added to the country’s export restriction list.
“For every 12 patients you treat with these drugs, you would expect to save a life. It’s a big effect, ”said Gordon the same BBC. In addition to saving more lives, the drugs also speed recovery and shorten the time severely ill patients spend in intensive care by about a week.
The REMAP-CAP study was conducted in six different countries, not just the UK, and included 800 intensive care patients. Nearly 36% of patients who received standard care died, compared to 27% of patients who received tocilizumab or sarilumab. The most important discovery appears to be related to the timing of the therapy. The drugs were given to patients within 24 hours of entering intensive care.
The drugs reduce the aggravated inflammation that can occur in severe COVID-19 cases. Physicians are recommended to give either drug to any COVID-19 patient who is getting worse despite taking dexamethasone. That’s the life-saving COVID-19 treatment confirmed as effective by British researchers last summer.
“The fact that there is now another drug that can help reduce the mortality of patients with Covid-19 is hugely welcome news and another positive development in the ongoing fight against the virus,” said Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of Covid-19. the NHS.
“The UK has proven time and time again to be at the forefront of identifying and delivering the most promising, innovative treatments for its patients,” said Health and Social Affairs Minister Matt Hancock of the discovery. “Today’s results are another milestone in finding a way out of this pandemic and, when added to the arsenal of vaccines and treatments already being rolled out, will play an important role in defeating this virus.”
Dexamethasone is an incredibly affordable therapy because it is a widely used steroid. A course costs £ 5 ($ 7). But tocilizumab and sarilumab are much more expensive, with treatment ranging between £ 750 ($ 1019) and £ 1,000 ($ 1359) per patient. The BBC points out that the drugs are still cheaper than the £ 2,000 ($ 2,716) paid for a day of intensive care.
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby and before he knew it, he shared his thoughts on tech matters with readers around the world. When not writing about gadgets, he sadly fails to stay away from them, though he desperately tries. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.