Roche Arthritis Drug Fails To Help Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

A rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra/RoActemra from Roche Holding AG failed to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a late-stage trial, the Switzerland-based healthcare company said Wednesday.

A study of 452 hospitalized COVID-19 patients revealed that the drug was no better than a placebo in improving patients’ clinical status. The trial found that 19.7% of Actemra patients died after four weeks, compared to 19.4% of patients in the placebo group.

The “COVACTA trial did not meet its primary end-point of improved clinical status in patients with COVID-19 associated pneumonia, or the key secondary end-point of reduced patient mortality,” Roche said in a statement.

“People around the world are waiting for further effective treatment options for Covid-19 and we are disappointed that COVACTA did not demonstrate a benefit for patients in either clinical status or mortality at week four,” Roche chief medical officer and Global Product Development head Levi Garraway said. “We will continue to generate evidence to provide a more complete understanding of Actemra/RoActemra in Covid-19 associated pneumonia.”

Pharmaceutical companies around the world have been racing to find an effective treatment for COVID-19. Remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Sciences, has shown promise in treating hospitalized patients with the virus, and has been approved for emergency use in the U.S., India and Singapore.

Roche is currently collaborating with Gilead to determine whether Actemra and Remdesivir could be used together as a combined treatment for COVID-19.