Arthritis Drug Fails in Study of Covid-19 Patients
July 02 2020 - 6:17PM
Dow Jones News
By Joseph Walker
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sanofi SA said their
arthritis drug Kevzara failed to help Covid-19 patients recover in
a U.S. clinical trial.
The failure clouds a class of drugs being studied as potential
treatments for Covid-19 patients who experience an abnormal immune
response known as "cytokine storm," which researchers and doctors
suspect contributes to the deaths of some patients.
The U.S. study of Kevzara was stopped after the drug was shown
to be no better than placebo in helping the recovery of
critically-ill hospitalized patients, the companies said on
Thursday. Patients were considered critical if they were on
ventilators, high-flow oxygen or requiring treatment in an
intensive care unit.
Among patients on ventilators, 80% of Kevzara patients
experienced side effects, compared with 77% of patients receiving
placebo, the companies said.
Detailed results from the study will be submitted for
publication in a scientific journal, the companies added.
Despite the end of the U.S. study, a Sanofi-led study of Kevzara
outside the U.S. will continue on the recommendation of a data
monitoring committee overseeing both trials, the companies said.
That study is evaluating a different dosing regimen. Results are
expected in the third quarter of this year.
In April, Regeneron halted part of the U.S. Kevzara study in
hospitalized patients who weren't sick enough to be put on
ventilators or receive high-flow oxygen therapy, but received other
oxygen support.
Kevzara blocks a cytokine protein known as interleukin-6, or
IL-6, which plays a role in triggering the body's immune and
inflammatory response. Regeneron and Sanofi started clinical trials
of the drug earlier this year after a small Chinese study of
another IL-6 blocker, Actemra, showed encouraging results.
Genentech, a unit of Roche Holding AG, is conducting multiple
studies of Actemra, including in combination with Gilead Sciences
Inc.'s antiviral treatment remdesivir. Unlike Kevzara, Actemra is
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat cytokine
storm in certain patients.
Write to Joseph Walker at joseph.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 02, 2020 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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