WHO adds new drugs to COVID treatments amid rising Omicron | Coronavirus pandemic News

Recent recommendations call for new calls for patent waivers to allow more people to access treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has added two other drugs to its guidelines for recommended treatment for COVID-19, a more infectious variant of coronavirus Omicron causing an unprecedented rise in cases worldwide.

The drug Baricitinib, which is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is “highly recommended” for patients with severe or severe COVID-19 when combined with corticosteroids, according to guidelines published by the UK’s international panel of experts. Journal of Medicine.

The drug has been shown to reduce the need for ventilation and improve patients’ chances of survival, with no sign of an increase in adverse reactions, the panel said.

The panel also issued a “conditional recommendation” for sotrovimab, an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment for those who are not severely COVID-19 but are most at risk of hospitalization. Monoclonal antibodies are compounds produced in laboratories that mimic the body’s natural defense mechanism.

New treatment recommendations are emerging as the pandemic accelerates worldwide. Over the past week, more than 15 million new cases of COVID-19 have been reported to the WHO – mostly in just one week – driven by the Omicron variant, which is being replaced almost everywhere by the Delta variant.

The recommendations were based on new evidence from seven trials of more than 4,000 patients with non-serious, severe, and critical cases of COVID-19.

“The guideline includes previous recommendations for the use of interleukin-6 receptor blockers and systemic corticosteroids for patients with severe or critical covid-19; Regardless of the severity of the disease in patients with -19, “the WHO said in a statement.

The French humanitarian organization (MSF) has welcomed the new humanitarian organization and called on governments to address patent protection so that as many people as possible can benefit from the treatment.

Baricitinib is produced by US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, and although generic versions are available in India and Bangladesh, patents are in force in Brazil and Indonesia.

“For almost two years, we have been unable to see people dying as a result of COVID-19 in the midst of a catastrophic wave of disease.

“The opportunities for intensive care are limited, so saving more lives for people with serious and serious infections, relying heavily on the drugs we already provide, and the cheap medicines we can provide in addition to our close care. Our projects. New treatments are emerging. , it will only be inhumanity if resources are not available in limited settings because they are patented and too expensive. ”

The WHO added:saving lives”Interleukin-6 receptor blockers to the COVID-19 treatment list last July. recommended the use of corticosteroids September 2020.

In recent weeks, government regulators have also approved new oral treatments for the disease, including Paxlovid, Pfizer anti-virus pill, which brought high-risk patients to hospital and approached a 90 percent effectiveness in preventing death. Omicron also maintained its effectiveness, the company said.