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An anti-inflammatory drug Ruxolitinib has shown promising results in the treatment of severe coronavirus disease COVID-19. The study titled, “Ruxolitinib in treatment of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A multicenter, single-blind, randomized controlled trial,” was published as a pre-proof for the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Results showed that those patients that received Ruxolitinib and standard care did not significantly accelerate the clinical improvement in patients of severe COVID-19. However, those on Ruxolitinib had a “numerically faster clinical improvement.” The results showed that 90 percent of patients (18) on Ruxolitinib showed a significant improvement via CT scan on the 14th day of treatment (D14). This was seen in 61.9 percent or 13 patients in the control group on placebo and standard care. Among the control group, three patients died of respiratory failure. The death rate was 14.3 percent among the control group at the 28th day (D28). Among the Ruxolitinib group, no patients died during the study period.
Overall the new drug Ruxolitinib was found to be “well-tolerated with low toxicities.” Further, the levels of cytokines were found to be significantly reduced among those in the Ruxolitinib group compared with the control group. The team said that the next larger phase III trial called RUXCOVID by Incyte and Novartis is already underway with around 400 severely ill COVID-19 patients who are being treated with Ruxolitinib. Results are expected soon, say authors.
Original Research Published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (May 26, 2020):
