Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

February 26, 2021

Tocilizumab in Hospitalized Patients with Severe Covid-19 Pneumonia

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  • A multi-center phase 3 clinical trial of intravenous treatment using the IL-6 receptor antagonists tocilizumab in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia found that tocilizumab did not result in significantly better clinical status or reduced mortality compared to placebo (19.7% vs 19.4%) at 28 days. At day 14, clinical status was also not to be significantly different between treatment and placebo. Time until hospital discharge (HR=1.36) was lower in the tocilizumab treatment group. In a population of patients monitored for safety, both adverse event and serious adverse events were similar between the treatment and placebo group (Adverse event: 77.3% vs 81.1%; serious adverse event: 34.9% vs. 38.5%). Only 19% of participant in the tocilizumab arm and 28.5% of participants in the placebo arm received glucocorticoids.

Rosas et al. (Feb 25, 2021). Tocilizumab in Hospitalized Patients with Severe Covid-19 Pneumonia. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2028700