From article The data published Thursday showed
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Posted On: 01/09/2021 10:17:36 AM
From article
The data published Thursday showed that patients were given tocilizumab, sarilumab or usual treatment within a day of requiring organ support in the ICU — most typically patients who were on high-flow oxygen or a ventilator. Tocilizumab is manufactured by Roche under the label Actemra, and sarilumab is sold as Kevzara by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The drugs, which block certain immune molecules from triggering inflammation, are far more expensive than the cheap steroids already being given to those patients.
The list price of the dose of Kevzara used in the trial is about $3,600. The maximum dose used in the trial of Actemra currently carries a list price of $4,600, but the dose varied by patients’ body weight and could be given either once or twice. Bob Purcell, a spokesman for Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, said that the drug was not approved for use in covid-19 and the pricing might differ if it were approved to treat the illness.
The trial measured the success of the drug by the number of days patients didn’t need organ support, but found that much of the benefit came from preventing death, Angus said.
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About 36 percent of patients died in the hospital who received standard care, while 28 percent died on tocilizumab and 22 percent died when given sarilumab. Patients treated with the drugs spent about a week less in the ICU, on average.
The data published Thursday showed that patients were given tocilizumab, sarilumab or usual treatment within a day of requiring organ support in the ICU — most typically patients who were on high-flow oxygen or a ventilator. Tocilizumab is manufactured by Roche under the label Actemra, and sarilumab is sold as Kevzara by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The drugs, which block certain immune molecules from triggering inflammation, are far more expensive than the cheap steroids already being given to those patients.
The list price of the dose of Kevzara used in the trial is about $3,600. The maximum dose used in the trial of Actemra currently carries a list price of $4,600, but the dose varied by patients’ body weight and could be given either once or twice. Bob Purcell, a spokesman for Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, said that the drug was not approved for use in covid-19 and the pricing might differ if it were approved to treat the illness.
The trial measured the success of the drug by the number of days patients didn’t need organ support, but found that much of the benefit came from preventing death, Angus said.
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About 36 percent of patients died in the hospital who received standard care, while 28 percent died on tocilizumab and 22 percent died when given sarilumab. Patients treated with the drugs spent about a week less in the ICU, on average.
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