The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended IL-6 inhibitors from Sanofi and Roche as ‘life-saving’ drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
WHO’s updated patient care guidelines now include Roche’s Actemra (tocilizumab) and Sanofi’s Kevzara (sarilumab) for the treatment of patients who are severely or critically ill with COVID-19, particularly when administered alongside corticosteroids.
Both Actemra and Kevzara are IL-6 receptor agonists and are most commonly used to treat anti-inflammatory conditions, including arthritis.
IL-6 is thought to play a role in driving the overactive inflammatory response in the lungs of critically and severely ill COVID-19 patients.
The recommendations follow findings from a prospective and living network meta-analysis conducted by WHO, which also considered data from over 10,000 patients enrolled in 27 clinical trials.
According to WHO’s meta-analyses, when Kevzara or Actemra are administered to severely ill or critically ill COVID-19 patients, these drugs can reduce the risk of death by 13% when compared to standard care.
In addition, the risk of needing mechanical ventilation among these critically ill patients drops by 28% with IL-6 inhibitor treatment compared to standard care.
These findings translate to as many as 28 fewer deaths for every thousand critically ill patients, and 23 fewer patients out of a thousand requiring mechanical ventilation.
“These drugs offer hope for patients and families who are suffering from the devastating impact of severe and critical COVID-19. But IL-6 receptor blockers remain inaccessible and unaffordable for the majority of the world,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.
“The inequitable distribution of vaccines means that people in low- and middle-income countries are most susceptible to severe forms of COVID-19. So, the greatest need for these drugs is in countries that currently have the least access. We must urgently change this,” he added.
Earlier this year, a study led by Imperial College London also found that both Actemra and Kevzara cut the risk of death in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Analysis from the REMAP-CAP trial found that both Actemra and Kevzara reduced mortality by 8.6%, and also improved recovery times among patients who are critically ill with COVID-19.
This reflects a reduction in the relative risk of death by 24% when given to patients within 24 hours of entering intensive care.
On average, patients treated with these drugs were able to leave the ICU around a week earlier than those not receiving these treatments.