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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.  (Weintraub, 10/20)

JAMA Internal Medicine today published a trio of studies on use of the immunosuppressive drug tocilizumab in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, one of them a large US observational study that suggested some promise and two randomized clinical trials from Italy and France that found no benefit. The first study involved 3,924 adult COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) at 68 hospitals in the United States from Mar 4 to May 10. (Van Beusekom, 10/20)

Nearly two weeks ago, President Trump told Americans that they would soon be getting an antibody treatment that he had promoted, without evidence, as a “cure” for the coronavirus. This weekend, as the country braced for another major wave of coronavirus infections, Mr. Trump’s health secretary promised such therapies were just around the corner. But these statements are misleading, at best. Even if the drugs are proven to work — still a big if — there’s little chance that they will soon be widely available. A smooth distribution of the antibody treatments will be dependent on the very same factors that have so far bedeviled the country’s response to Covid-19: fast and plentiful testing, coordination between state and federal officials, and equitable access to health care. (Thomas, 10/20)

Eli Lilly and Co said late on Tuesday it had hired an independent consultant to review a plant producing its COVID-19 antibody drug after receiving a notice from the U.S. health regulator. The company reiterated that it had not received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) following its plant inspection, which was first reported by Reuters last week. (10/21)