Dont forget ... Others are out of the game .. B
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Posted On: 08/05/2020 11:34:15 AM
Dont forget ... Others are out of the game ..
BARDA waves IL-6 goodbye.
IL-6 inhibitors showed some early promise in potentially treating Covid-19 patients, but recent trial flops have dashed hopes. Now it appears BARDA has officially pulled the plug.
The HHS office’s website has quietly updated to reflect that it is “no longer supporting product development” for Covid-19 in both Actemra (tocilizumab) and Kevzara (sarilumab), dealing a blow to the Roche and Regeneron/Sanofi drugs. This all but assures that IL-6 drugs repurposed to treat Covid-19 are essentially dead in the water.
Though it’s unclear when exactly BARDA halted funding, Roche announced last week that Actemra failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase III trial treating hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19 cases. Not only did the drug fizzle in terms of improving clinical status, Actemra also showed almost no difference from the placebo in the percentage of patients who died during the study.
Roche’s defeat follows similar trials from Regeneron and Sanofi that showed Kevzara did not meaningfully improve Covid-19 symptoms in both moderately ill and critically ill patients.
Actemra and Kevzara both target the IL-6 cytokine receptor and are approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Initial hope for the drugs to be used for Covid-19 arose after Chinese physicians reported success in how they reduced the inflammatory responses in the most severe cases.
BARDA had doled out $25.1 million to Roche and about $16.4 million to Regeneron in March, with the latter having an option for an additional $53.5 million or so.
BARDA waves IL-6 goodbye.
IL-6 inhibitors showed some early promise in potentially treating Covid-19 patients, but recent trial flops have dashed hopes. Now it appears BARDA has officially pulled the plug.
The HHS office’s website has quietly updated to reflect that it is “no longer supporting product development” for Covid-19 in both Actemra (tocilizumab) and Kevzara (sarilumab), dealing a blow to the Roche and Regeneron/Sanofi drugs. This all but assures that IL-6 drugs repurposed to treat Covid-19 are essentially dead in the water.
Though it’s unclear when exactly BARDA halted funding, Roche announced last week that Actemra failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase III trial treating hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19 cases. Not only did the drug fizzle in terms of improving clinical status, Actemra also showed almost no difference from the placebo in the percentage of patients who died during the study.
Roche’s defeat follows similar trials from Regeneron and Sanofi that showed Kevzara did not meaningfully improve Covid-19 symptoms in both moderately ill and critically ill patients.
Actemra and Kevzara both target the IL-6 cytokine receptor and are approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Initial hope for the drugs to be used for Covid-19 arose after Chinese physicians reported success in how they reduced the inflammatory responses in the most severe cases.
BARDA had doled out $25.1 million to Roche and about $16.4 million to Regeneron in March, with the latter having an option for an additional $53.5 million or so.
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