The US began enrolling hospitalized COVID-19 patients requiring supplemental oxygen in a trial of two separate treatments, both involving remdesivir, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a press release on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2020) The US began enrolling hospitalized COVID-19 patients requiring supplemental oxygen in a trial of two separate treatments, both involving remdesivir, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a press release on Wednesday.
"One group will receive both dexamethasone, a corticosteroid available as a generic drug, and remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral," the release said. "The second group will receive remdesivir and baricitinib, a modulator of inflammation that is approved by FDA [Food and Drug Administration] to treat certain adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis."
NIAID began enrolling hospitalized patients in the trial, with plans to include up to 1,500 patients at 100 sites in the US and other countries to compare the efficacy of the treatments, both of which have received emergency use authorization from the FDA, the release said.
The trial aims to determine whether baricitinib or dexamethasone, when administered with remdesivir, is more effective at preventing hospitalized adults on supplemental oxygen from progressing to requiring mechanical ventilation or death, or if they are similar, the release added.
To date, dexamethasone and baricitinib are the only two anti-inflammatory therapies that have demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in large, randomized clinical trials, according to the release.
