Regeneron, Sanofi to Test Arthritis Drug as Coronavirus Treatment -- Update
March 10 2020 - 6:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Joseph Walker
Drugmakers Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sanofi SA are
racing to launch clinical trials exploring whether their arthritis
drug could treat symptoms of novel coronavirus infections.
The study preparations mark the latest effort in an emerging
front in researchers' hunt for effective treatments for Covid-19,
the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. In the
U.S., there aren't any drugs or vaccines approved for the
condition.
The research aims to see whether certain drugs already on the
market to tackle immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis could
help ease damage to the lungs and respiratory system caused by the
immune system's overreaction to the virus causing Covid-19. The
drugs wouldn't treat the underlying virus.
The research aims to see whether certain drugs already on the
market to tackle immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis could
help ease damage to the lungs and respiratory system caused by the
immune system's overreaction to the Covid-19 virus, rather than
killing it.
The Sanofi and Regeneron drug, called Kevzara, was approved by
the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 to treat rheumatoid
arthritis.
"The goal would be in the next couple of weeks to have the trial
up and running, and in weeks to months after that to have the
data," Regeneron Chief Scientific Officer George Yancopoulos said
in an interview on Tuesday.
Boosting the rationale for studying Kevzara's effect on Covid-19
was a recent report by Chinese researchers that a similar-acting
drug, Actemra from Roche Holding AG, had helped a small group of
patients with severe or critical Covid-19 disease recover.
Several patients in the study "got out of death's bed and walked
out of the hospital" after receiving Actemra, Dr. Yancopoulos said.
However, he cautioned that the study required repeating because it
was small, not controlled and didn't have defined parameters for
success.
Genentech, a Roche subsidiary, said it is exploring
opportunities to conduct U.S. studies of Actemra in Covid-19
patients with pneumonia, said a company spokeswoman. A study of the
drug on Covid-19 was recently begun by the First People's Hospital
of University of Science and Technology of China, she said.
Both Actemra and Kevzara block proteins called interleukin-6, or
IL-6, that trigger the body's immune and inflammatory response.
Normally the response helps fight infections. If the immune system
overreacts, however, it can attack healthy tissue and organs.
In some novel coronavirus patients, the immune response may be
accelerating and damaging the lungs even after significantly
diminishing the amount of virus in the body, said Naimish Patel,
Sanofi's head of global development for immunology and
inflammation, in an interview.
Blocking IL-6 may put the brakes on the immune system and keep
the body from attacking itself, he said.
"Even though the virus is diminishing, it's sending signals to
the immune system to keep attacking," said Dr. Patel. "If there's
too much inflammation, you end up killing cells that aren't
infected and leading to more damage than you really need."
Symptoms associated with Covid-19 include fever, low oxygen
levels in the blood and difficulty breathing.
One concern about deploying drugs that dampen the immune system
is whether the virus would be able to strengthen and worsen a
patient's disease, said Timothy Sheahan, assistant professor of
epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, who conducts
laboratory research into drugs for coronaviruses, including Gilead
Sciences Inc.'s remdesivir.
Several drugmakers in addition to Gilead are looking for drugs
aiming to cure novel coronavirus infections, while Sanofi and other
companies are working on vaccines to prevent the infections.
Regeneron is leading efforts to study Kevzara in the U.S. and is
in talks with the FDA, New York state Health Commissioner Howard
Zucker and hospitals designated to care for Covid-19 patients and
could serve as research sites for the trial, Dr. Yancopoulos
said.
The company, based in Tarrytown, N.Y., is likely to kick off the
trial in New York, he said.
(Article below will update)
Write to Joseph Walker at joseph.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 10, 2020 17:45 ET (21:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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