According to the results of a clinical trial conducted in Brazil by researchers at the Israelite Albert Einstein Hospital, Tofacitinib (a drug used against arthritis) has shown promising effects in the fight against severe forms of Covid-19.
Tofacitinib would have positive effects against severe forms of Covid-19
Researchers at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Brazil conducted a clinical trial in partnership with Pfizer to test the effects of tofacitinib against severe forms of Covid-19. Used against arthritis and authorized in the United States to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis, this drug has been tested on 289 patients hospitalized with severe forms of Covid, across 15 Brazilian sites. According to the results published on June 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, tofacitinib has shown positive effects in treating patients hospitalized due to Covid-19.
To achieve these results, the scientists gave the treatment (two tablets of 10mg per day in addition to conventional care) to half of the patients. The others who received a placebo in addition to traditional care. It emerged that after 28 days, 18.1% of the members of the treatment group developed respiratory failure or died, compared to 29% of the placebo group. In total, 5.5% of the members of the placebo group died compared to 2.8% of the patients who took tofacitinib. Promising results that the scientist Otavio Berwanger behind the clinical trial commented: “Ne are encouraged by the first results of our randomized trial of tofacitinib in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia ”.
