French Study: Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Shows Promise in Treating Severe COVID-19

According to the study, anakinra shows "encouraging" results for severe forms of covid-19 through the reduction of the risk of death and the need for mechanical ventilation in intensive care. "The significant reduction in mortality associated with the use of anakinra for covid-19 in this study is encouraging, in these difficult times," comments rheumatologist Randy Cron of the University of Alabama (Birmingham, United States) in the specialized journal The Lancet Rheumatology. He emphasizes the "favorable safety profile" of this drug recommended by rheumatologists for their patients.

It is a question of controlling the "cytokine storm". This is an uncontrolled inflammatory reaction implicated in the severe forms of coronavirus pneumonia that lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This is explained by the fact that the lungs do not provide enough oxygen to the vital organs, which need the assistance of artificial ventilation with the use of a respirator.

The role of anakinra is to target and block one of the cytokines involved in this "inflammatory storm", interleukin-1 (IL-1). According to the medical team, Thomas Huet and his colleagues, from the Paris Saint-Joseph Hospital Group (GHPSJ), the administration by subcutaneous injection for 10 days of anakinra (trade name: Kineret), to 52 patients with a severe form of covid-19 has produced better results. This has led to a "statistically significant reduction in the risk of death and transfer to intensive care for mechanical ventilation assistance".

"In the absence of access to therapeutic trials including immunomodulatory drugs for our patients, the decision [...] taken to offer anakinra, according to severity criteria decided upon consensually and a priori, has quickly changed the face of the disease in the ward," assures Professor Jean-Jacques Mourad, co-signatory of the study. He will add that "the benefit was palpable on a daily basis".