The list of drugs shown effective for treating COVID-19 got longer Tuesday, even as another well-used drug lost some of its luster.
In a large clinical study, tocilizumab, an immune modulator long used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, showed it can save lives if given to critically ill COVID-19 patients within the first two days of being admitted to an intensive care unit.
The study, published in
JAMA Internal Medicine, showed just over 27% of ICU patients treated with tocilizumab died within a month, compared with 37% of those just as seriously ill but did not receive the drug.
Tocilizumab, a so-called monoclonal antibody, has been used during the outbreak because of its effect on tamping down immune over-reactions, which have been common with COVID-19. Smaller studies,
including one published at the same time by the same journal have shown mixed results, with some finding the drug did not reduce deaths.