(Reuters) – Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi SA said on Monday they would test their arthritis drug, Kevzara, in critically ill COVID-19 patients after the drug showed no benefit for patients with a less severe form of the disease.
The companies said the decision to discontinue testing for severe cases was based on the recommendation of an independent monitoring committee that reviewed early data from the trial.
Early analysis of the study showed negative trends for most outcomes in “severe” patients, while there were positive trends for all outcomes in the “critical” group, the companies said.
Patients who required mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygenation or required treatment in an intensive care unit were considered critical, while those who required oxygen supply without mechanical or high-flow oxygenation were considered severe.
Kevzara belongs to a class of drugs called interleukin-6 inhibitors that could help regulate an overreaction to the virus by the body’s immune system, which may be triggering the respiratory distress seen in severe COVID-19 cases.
There are currently no approved treatments to treat the new coronavirus and drugmakers are rushing to repurpose existing drugs as well as test experimental therapies in infected patients.
Regeneron has identified hundreds of virus-neutralizing antibodies and is working to select the best two candidates for a “cocktail” therapy that might treat and even prevent the disease, with the expectation of starting human trials in June.
Regeneron’s shares, which have risen 51% so far this year, fell 2% to $555 in premarket trading after the announcement.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
