The anti-arthritic drug baricitinib reduces the risk of death from severe Covid - How it works

Baricitinib, an anti-inflammatory drug that researchers say reduces the risk of death from severe Covid.

The oral drug, used to suppress the immune response in rheumatoid arthritis patients, has also been found to further reduce the risk of death by 13% in patients with severe COVID-19 who are already taking other anti-coronary drugs such as dexamethasone , according to the important international clinical trial Recovery.

The drug baricitinib in the coronavirus

“Adding baricitinib to drugs that doctors have already prescribed adds an additional benefit,” said Martin Landrey, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Oxford. The scientific community is pleased with the confirmation that a “weapon” is being added to the few therapies that have been shown to work in severe Covid-19 disease.

How the drug works in the coronavirus

Baricitinib blocks JAK enzymes that play an important role in the body’s immune response. Some smaller studies have already shown that this antiarthritic drug can also help against coronavirus, which is now confirmed by the world’s largest clinical trial of new therapies against Covid-19. It started in Britain in March 2020 and has now expanded to hospitals in South Africa, Ghana, Vietnam, Nepal and Indonesia.

The researchers, who published the relevant publication on medRxiv, compared 4,008 patients with Covid-19 who had received standard treatment (oxygen, dexamethasone, remedesivir, tocilizumab, etc.) with 4,148 who had taken the same drugs as baricitinib. Of the second group, 513 (12%) died within 28 days, compared to 546 deaths (14%) in the first control group.

However, the risk reduction in Recovery was found to be less than that seen in eight smaller clinical trials, according to Science, the BBC and The Guardian. If the latter are taken into account, in a meta-analysis, it is estimated that the reduction in the risk of death thanks to baricitinib reaches 20%.

Baricitinib did not appear to cause significant side effects when used briefly against severe covid-19. The drug is much more expensive than cheap dexamethasone, but cheaper than tocilizumab (the cost of a 10-day treatment with baricitinib is estimated at λί 250). The British National Health Service is expected to soon recommend the widespread use of baricitinib in patients with severe coronavirus disease.

source: iefi merida