Rheumatoid arthritis drug ‘reduces covid-19 death by two-thirds’, researchers say

A significant two-thirds of hospitalized patients with rheumatoid arthritis have been found to be dying – a powerful new weapon in surgery against the disease.

The daily pill, defined as a potential covid game-changer by the British Pay, reduces deaths from moderate to severe illness by 71 per cent, researchers say.

Importantly, it works in the elderly and also raises hopes that it saves the most vulnerable.

Known as bericitinib and marketed under the brand name Olumant, it is a relatively new drug for arthritis that has been available for only three years.

A significant two-thirds of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Picture: Stock

But in February he was identified as a strong candidate to help treat the new threat of Covid-19.

The drug was taken by London-based Benevolent AAI, which examined thousands of existing drugs for indications that they could cope with covid.

Its artificial intelligence program predicts that bericitinib will ‘reduce the virus’s ability to infect lung cells’.

Now the idea has been validated by Pan-European researchers, led by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, who reported a two-thirds reduction in mortality among those hospitalized with the disease.

The daily pill, prescribed by a British firm as a potential covid game-changer, reduces deaths from moderate to severe illness by 71 per cent, researchers say. Picture: Stock

The development went like this:

• Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline told The Mail on Sunday that it had already made “millions of doses” of a single vaccine and hoped it would be combined with another vaccine developed by Pfizer early next year;

• A further 26,860 covid cases were reported yesterday – a week-on-week increase of 7.6 per cent – with 462 deaths within 28 days of a positive test;

• Professor Susan Michi, a member of the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies, has urged people to redouble their efforts so they can ‘stay in position’ to spend Christmas with loved ones;

• The first week of November saw a four per cent increase in daily infections in England, according to figures from the National Fish for National Statistics, indicating that its spread is slow;

• Bose of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic vowed to allow passengers to take tests before leaving the UK.

Called bericitinib and marketed under the illuminant brand name, it is a relatively new drug for arthritis that has only been available for three years.

Imperial College London’s N.H.S. Professor Justin Stabing, a cancer specialist, predicted that bericitinib would help save thousands of lives. He said: ‘In the history of covid treatment, many drugs have not been standing. The only ones left are two British-invented drugs. ‘

Another steroid is dexamethasone, which cuts the risk of death in critically ill covid patients by 33 percent.

The results have been published in the Journal of Science Advances from hospitalized patients with Covid-19 pneumonia in two hospitals in Italy and Spain.

Professor Walker Lauschke of Karnalinska, who led the study, said: “These results are particularly encouraging to see a group of elderly patients being excluded, as this group is excluded.”