- Coronavirus: anti-arthritis drug works, improves the condition of a patient
- Coronavirus: first drug ready to neutralize it, but it will take months for tests
- Coronavirus. Italy tests the Remdesivir antiviral drug with two phase III studies
- Coronavirus: Roche sells free arthritis drug for trial
Share
March 17, 2020 "A large phase II study on Tocilizumab to quickly evaluate the possible impact of the drug begins on Thursday."The director of the AIFA Nicola Magrini says this during a conference on the coronavirus. "330 patients will be involved, the preliminary data are promising," he adds.
Advances the day before
The announcement of the trial had been anticipated, and then downsized, on Monday at Ansa by Vincenzo Montesarchio, an infectious disease specialist at the Cotugno hospital in Naples who is working together with Paolo Ascierto, director of the Pascale clinical immunology unit, on the positive effect of the drug on Coronavirus-induced pneumonia.
Paolo Ascierto, director of the Unit of Melanoma Oncology, Cancer Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapies of the Irccs Cancer Foundation Pascale Foundation in Naples, who is using this off label rheumatoid arthritis drug against Covid-19, had meanwhile explained to Adnkronos Salute that " So far, 11 patients with Covid-19 have been treated in Naples with the anti-arthritis drug Tocilizumab. Based on the results we are recording, cautious optimism remains. "