Wessex-supported RECOVERY Trial shows baricitinib reduces deaths in COVID-19 hospitalised patients
The NIHR-supported RECOVERY trial has found that baricitinib, an anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis drug, reduces deaths in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 by around one-fifth.
The benefit was in addition to those of dexamethasone and tocilizumab, two other anti-inflammatory treatments which have previously been shown to reduce the risk of death in these patients.
The RECOVERY trial was supported by research teams across the region, with more 2,100 Wessex participants recruited from 11 trial sites.
The dose of baricitinib was a 4mg tablet once daily for 10 days (or until discharge from hospital if sooner). Treatment with baricitinib significantly reduced deaths, with a reduction of 33 deaths compared to patients within the usual care group - from 546 to 513.
The benefit of baricitinib was consistent regardless of which other COVID-19 treatments the patients were also receiving, including corticosteroids, tocilizumab, or remdesivir.
Patients receiving baricitinib were also more likely to be discharged alive within 28 days. Among patients not on invasive mechanical ventilation when entered into the trial, baricitinib reduced the chance of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death from 17% to 16%.
Dr Hitasha Rupani, respiratory specialty lead for NIHR Clinical Research Network Wessex, said: "I’d like to acknowledge the incredible work by research teams across the region in recruiting more than 2,000 participants to the RECOVERY trial.
“We're particularly grateful to all the RECOVERY participants who have taken part so far - without them we wouldn’t have another treatment for those who end up in hospital with COVID-19.”
Baricitnib is the fourth treatment the RECOVERY trial has shown to save lives, following the steroid dexamethasone, the arthritis treatment tocilizumab, and a combination of monoclonal antibodies targeting the viral spike protein, known as Ronapreve. These discoveries have changed clinical practice worldwide and been credited with saving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives.
A manuscript providing further details on these results has been submitted to medRxiv.
