Big pharma rheumatoid arthritis drug shows benefit in covid 19 pneumonia

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pfizer-idUKKCN2DS2JF

JUNE 17, 20216:17 AMUPDATED 9 HOURS AGO

Pfizer's rheumatoid arthritis drug shows benefit in COVID-19 pneumonia​

By Reuters Staff

(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday its oral rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz reduced death or respiratory failure in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia in Brazil, meeting the study’s main goal.

Results of the study, which tested the drug in 289 hospitalized adult patients with the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

 

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Pfizer said the incidence of death or respiratory failure was 18.1% for patients treated with the drug compared to 29% for placebo. Serious adverse events occurred in 20 patients treated with the drug compared to 17 patients on placebo.

Xeljanz, which belongs to a class of drugs called JAK inhibitors and also treats the autoimmune disease ulcerative colitis, has not been approved or authorized for use in any country for the treatment of COVID-19.

 

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https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/pfizer-tofacitinib-lowers-mortality/

NEWS

Pfizer’s tofacitinib lowers mortality in Covid-19 pneumonia trial in Brazil​

17 Jun 2021 (Last Updated June 17th, 2021 08:10)
By day 28, subjects receiving tofacitinib had an 18.1% reduction in the cumulative occurrence of death or respiratory failure.

 

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Pfizer has reported that its rheumatoid arthritis drug, tofacitinib, lowered the cumulative occurrence of death or respiratory failure in Covid-19 pneumonia patients, meeting the primary goal of the STOP-COVID study in Brazil.

Marketed as Xeljanz, tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that is approved in the US for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pcJIA).

 

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The multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled STOP-COVID study assessed the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib in 289 adults who were hospitalised with Covid-19 pneumonia, but not on ventilation.


Subjects were given either a twice-daily dose of tofacitinib 10mg or placebo, along with the standard of care in both groups, for up to 14 days or till they were discharged from the hospital.

The trial was conducted as part of a research partnership between Pfizer and The Academic Research Organization (ARO) from the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Brazil. ARO was the coordinating centre for the trial.


According to study results, an 18.1% reduction in the cumulative occurrence of death or respiratory failure by day 28 was noted in those receiving tofacitinib versus 29% with placebo.

By day 28, death from any cause was reported in 2.8% of subjects in the tofacitinib arm as against 5.5% in the placebo arm.

Furthermore, serious adverse events were observed in 14.1% of subjects on tofacitinib and 12% of those receiving placebo.