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WASHINGTON: An arthritis drug that was being closely watched for possible use against COVID-19 has yielded disappointing results in clinical trials, its manufacturers said Monday.
Kevzara, manufactured by Regeneron and Sanofi, does not attack the new coronavirus but instead inhibits an abnormal immune response called a “cytokine storm” that causes the lungs of the sickest patients to swell, leaving them fighting for their lives with ventilators.
A small early study in China looked promising, but the drug showed no benefit over placebo in a larger study in the United States of 276 patients with “severe” disease, that is, those requiring oxygen but not ventilators.
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However, there was a ray of hope for those who were “critical,” defined as needing mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygenation. In this group, 44 received a placebo, 94 received a low dose, and 88 received a high dose.
Fifty-five percent of the placebo patients died at the end of the study period, compared to 46 percent with the lowest dose and 32 percent with the high dose. The test will continue among this critical group.
“We look forward to the results of the ongoing phase 3 trial to learn more about COVID-19 and better understand whether some patients may benefit from Kevzara treatment,” said George Yancopoulos, president and co-founder of Regeneron.
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The company is separately developing an antibody cocktail that will target the virus directly and is hoping to advance human trials by June.
These antibodies are acquired by infecting mice that have genetically modified their immune systems to resemble humans. Regeneron has previously used this system to develop a treatment that has been shown to be effective against Ebola.
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