Eli Lilly's arthritis drug, Olumiant, in combination with remdesivir cut recovery times by a day or more for COVID-19 patients and had a greater effect on the seriously ill in clinical trial results posted Dec. 11 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The trial results were posted more than three weeks after the FDA gave emergency approval for the drug combination as a COVID-19 treatment.
Olumiant, a drug commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, and remdesivir both reduce excessive inflammation, the cause of many severe cases of COVID-19, The New York Times reported.
The clinical trial showed that some subgroups of patients benefited from Olumiant much more than others. The trial consisted of more than 1,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, all of whom received remdesivir. Those who were sick enough to need a high dose of supplemental oxygen or a noninvasive form of ventilation received eight days faster when given Olumiant in addition to remdesivir, the Times reported.
Earlier this month, physicians expressed concerns about Olumiant, saying that without trial results published it was unclear when to use it over less expensive steroids such as dexamethasone. Experts told the Times that even with the trial results, they still may be inclined to use dexamethasone over Olumiant in severely ill COVID-19 patients who require respiratory support.
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