New Delhi: According to a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, a team of international researchers has identified a drug that can be used to treat some patients suffering from COVID-19 pneumonia. The trial was led by the University of Birmingham and the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
The trial, called CATALYST, tested UK-based biopharmaceutical company Izana Biosciences’ namilumab (IZN-101) as a potential therapeutic for treating patients hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia.
The patients were receiving ‘usual’ care and had high levels of a marker of inflammation called C reactive protein (CRP) in their blood.
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Inflammation increases the level of CRP in the blood. In addition, elevated levels of CRP may serve as a potential early marker to predict the severity of COVID-19.
Namilumab is an antibody already in late trials for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It targets a ‘cytokine’ that is naturally secreted by immune cells in the body. However, uncontrolled secretion of cytokines is thought to be a major driver of the excessive and dangerous lung inflammation seen in COVID-19 patients.
The trial was conducted between June 2020 and February 2021 in patients above 16 years of age and those diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients were being treated either in a ward or in intensive care units (ICUs) in nine NHS hospitals across the UK.
Of the participants in the study, 54 patients were receiving usual care, meaning they received steroids and oxygen or ventilation, depending on the severity of the disease. The study noted that the remaining 57 patients are being administered an intravenous dose of 150 mg of namilumab, along with usual care.
There was a 97% chance of a decrease in CRP in the namilumab group
Study participants had CRP levels greater than 40 milligrams per liter. The study found that patients given namilumab had a 97 percent chance of lower CRP over time compared to those given usual care.
After 28 days of monitoring, it was found that there were fewer deaths and more hospital or ICU discharges in the batch that received namilumab compared to those receiving usual care alone.
43 patients who received namilumab were discharged from the hospital or ICU by day 28. It accounted for 78 percent of patients. On the other hand, only 33 patients who were given usual care were discharged by the same time, which was 61 percent of all participants, the study said.
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By day 28, six patients in the namilumab group were still in the hospital, compared to 11 patients in the usual care group. 6 patients died in the namilumab group, while 10 patients died in the usual care group.
The difference between the two groups was calculated in the total likelihood of being discharged from the ICU or a ward in 28 days. In the usual care group, the probability of being discharged from a ward in 28 days was 64 percent. In the namilumab group, it was 77 percent.
For patients in the ICU, the probability of discharge at day 28 was 47 percent in the usual care group, compared to 66 percent in the namilumab group.
Dr Ben Fischer, co-principal investigator of the CATALYST trial at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Inflammation and Aging, said the research provided important proof-of-concept evidence that namilumab reduces inflammation in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia. is, according to a statement issued by the University of Birmingham.
He said the sample size was too small for definitive assessment of clinical outcome and further study was needed. He said the results may not be normal for hospitalized patients without evidence of pneumonia or CRP patients not requiring hospitalization.
Therefore, it is important that namilumab is now prioritized for further COVID-19 research in a larger national phase III clinical trial, he explained.
Namilumab severe covid-19. May reduce hyper-inflammation in patients with
Dr. Somit Sidhu, Co-Founder, Izana Bioscience, said that the company is proud to have supported the catalyst test led by a highly experienced team at the University of Birmingham and UHB.
“We believe that namilumab can play an important role in reducing the hyper-inflammation seen in patients with severe COVID-19 infection and are committed to working with regulators and partners around the world to ensure that to ensure that this potential therapy is developed for patients with COVID-19 who require immediate treatment,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Infliximab drug was also tested
A second drug called infliximab (CT-P13) was also tested by the CATALYST team. Similar patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and CRP levels greater than 40 mg per liter receiving usual care and a single intravenous dose of five mg per kg infliximab were compared. However, the study found that infliximab was no more effective than usual care, with only a 15 percent chance of lowering CRP.
Fischer said the findings related to infliximab were important as researchers continue to investigate and identify existing and new anti-inflammatory drugs that may play an important role in targeting and reducing the most severe symptoms of COVID-19.
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