WHO adds lifelong medicines to critically ill COVID-19 patients | Coronavirus pandemic News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has added “lifelong” interleukin-6 receptor blockers to its list of COVID-19 treatments – the only second drug recommended as a disease control agent – as the pandemic continues to accelerate around the world.

The WHO has said that medicines work well when used side by side corticosteroids, Recommended by the WHO in September 2020.

“These drugs offer hope to patients and families suffering from the devastating effects of severe and critical COVID-19,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Patients with severe cases of COVID-19 experience an overreaction of the immune system and interleukin-6-blocking drugs – tocilizumab and sarilumab – suppress the overreaction.

The WHO said trials have shown that administering drugs in the case of serious patients has resulted in 15 fewer deaths per 1,000 patients. In severe patients, the use of interleukin-6 resulted in 28 fewer deaths per 1,000 deaths. Medications reduced the chances of serious and severe patients being put in the ventilator by 28 percent compared to regular care.

Recommendation with countries around the world, including South Africa, Indonesia and the devastating new waves of the virus caused by the Delta variant that originated in Bangladesh. An effort is already being made at the World Trade Organization remove COVID-19 vaccine patent protection to improve access to the poorest countries and there are calls for the removal of intellectual property barriers to drugs that are essential for the effective treatment of severe coronavirus.

Tocilizumab belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), including arthritis and cancer, used in the treatment of various diseases, and manufactured by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche. He sells the drug under the name Actemra.

Following the WHO recommendation, Doctors Without Borders (according to French initials, MSF) asked Rocher to make the price of the drug cheaper and more affordable, and to share knowledge, cell lines and technology with other manufacturers in the world of medicines.

“This medication can be key in treating people with severe and severe COVID-19 cases and reducing the need for ventilators and medical oxygen with scarce resources in many places,” said Julien Potet, MSF’s Access Campaign Tropical Disease Policy Adviser. in a statement. “Roch must stop following the usual business approach and take urgent measures to make this drug available and accessible to all who need it, reducing the price and transferring technology, knowledge and cell lines to other manufacturers. Too much life is at stake.”

Most existing mAbs are expensive, making them available to low- and middle-income countries.

MSF said that while tocilizumab has been on the market since 2009, the price is very high in most countries – $ 410 in Australia, up to $ 646 in India and $ 3,625 in the United States for a 600 mg dose of COVID-19. He added that the cost of manufacturing tocilizumab is estimated to be $ 400 per 40 mg dose.

Sarilumab, the second mAb recommended by the WHO, is made by the US pharmaceutical company Regeneron and the French doctor Sanofi, and the products are marketed under the Kevzara brand. According to MSF, Regeneron has applied for and granted patents on sarilumab and its formulation in at least 50 low- and middle-income countries.

The WHO called on manufacturers to reduce the price of medicines, accept transparent and non-exclusive licensing agreements or waive exclusivity rights.

“IL-6 receptor blockers remain available and inaccessible to the entire world,” Ghebreyesus said.

“Inadequate distribution of vaccines means that people in low- and middle-income countries are most vulnerable to severe form of COVID-19. So the greatest need for these drugs lies in the countries with the lowest access today. We urgently need to change this.”

The recommendation examined data from more than 10,000 patients who participated in 27 clinical trials.