How an ‘experimental arthritis drug’ could help treat Covid-19

A new drug developed to treat rheumatoid arthritis may be given to the most seriously ill Covid-19 patients, if a clinical trial now under way in Manchester proves successful.

Farhan Hamid, 41, has become the first British coronavirus patient to receive the drug, called otilimab, as part of a study run by Manchester Royal Infirmary.

“The research aims to establish whether otilimab can treat severe lung disease developed as a result of Covid-19,” says Sky News.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Dr Andy Martin, who is running the trial, said Hamid, from south Manchester, had been enrolled in the study because he was experiencing severe difficulty breathing. The experimental drug could “ease the effect of coronavirus on the lungs, dampening the impact of the virus on the immune system”, Martin explained.

Funded by the drug’s manufacturer, Glaxo SmithKline (GSK), the trial has “been given urgent public health research status by the Department of Health and Social Care”, the Daily Mirror reports.

Hospitals from all over the world, including five in the UK, will eventually take part in the tests, which will involve a total of 800 patients. Trials have already begun in the US.

“Those taking part will be allocated into two groups at random, with half receiving a one-hour, single infusion of otilimab,” says the Daily Mail. The other group will get “placebo intravenous therapy, in addition to standard care”.

Christopher Corsico of GSK said the drug is believed to help patients who are experiencing the most severe reaction to Covid-19.

“We know that some Covid-19 patients experience an overreaction of their immune system - sometimes referred to as cytokine storm - which can lead to hospitalisation or death,” he said.

“We believe that otilimab might be able to help counter or calm this process.”