Roche Tests Arthritis Drug Actemra for COVID-19 Pneumonia

Through its Genentech unit, Roche (OTC: RHHBY) is testing its rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra as a potential treatment for pneumonia in patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Roche said the Food and Drug Administration approved the start of the company's COVACTA phase 3 clinical trial.

The idea of using a rheumatoid arthritis drug for COVID-19 isn't that far-fetched. Some doctors have already tested Actemra on COVID-19 patients with some success, although the studies didn't have a control group. And last week, Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY) started a clinical trial of their interleukin-6 inhibitor Kevzara, which is also approved for rheumatoid arthritis.

Actemra works by blocking the interleukin-6 receptor, which reduces the inflammatory response in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Roche thinks it could help patients with COVID-19 because patients fighting off the infection can go through what's called a cytokine storm, wherein the immune system's positive feedback loop goes haywire and causes the immune system to ramp up higher and higher until it's attacking the patient's own cells. Interleukin-6 is one of those cytokines involved in the positive feedback loop.

Source Fool.com