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A new study is starting to see if adding an anti-inflammatory drug to the antiviral drug remdesivir can help coronavirus patients recover more quickly.
The US National Institutes of Health said it was beginning a randomized, controlled clinical trial of remdesivir plus baricitinib, usually prescribed to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Remdesivir has emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for use against Covid-19. One NIH-sponsored trial showed it reduced the duration of illness by a few days. The hope is that adding another drug will help patients improve even more quickly.
Researchers hope baricitinib, sold under the brand name Olumiant, can help control a condition called a cytokine storm in which the body’s immune system overreacts causing severe inflammation. It causes some of the organ damage and failure seen in severe cases of Covid-19.
“We now have solid data showing that remdesivir diminishes to a modest degree the time to recovery for people hospitalized with COVID-19,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. “(The study) will examine if adding an anti-inflammatory agent to the remdesivir regimen can provide additional benefit for patients, including improving mortality outcomes.”
The agency said it expects to enroll more than 1,000 people in the double-blind study in the US and internationally.
Half the participants, who must be hospitalized with serious cases of Covid-19 to take part in the study, will receive baricitinib orally and remdesivir intravenously. The other half will receive placebo tablets and remdesivir through an IV, the NIH said.
Researchers are will try and determine if the drug combination leads to a shorter recovery time. They’ll also look for secondary outcomes between the two groups, the NIH said, including death.
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