WHO adds ‘life-saving’ drugs to critically ill patients COVID-19 | Coronavirus News Plague

The World Health Organization (WHO) has added “life-saving” interleukin-6 receptor blockers to the list of treatments for COVID-19 – the only second drug that can be recommended as effective against the disease – as the epidemic continues to spread worldwide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the drug works best when used in combination corticosteroids, recommended by WHO in September 2020.

“The drug gives hope to patients and families who are suffering from the complications and complications of COVID-19,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

Patients with severe COVID-19 deficiency often have immunosuppression and interleukin-6 drugs – tocilizumab and sarilumab – help combat this.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in some patients with severe illness, the drug may cause 15,000 deaths per 1,000. For obese patients, interleukin-6 means fewer than 28 deaths per 1,000 patients. The treatment also means the chances of high-risk patients and patients being given a respirator were reduced by 28 percent, compared with appropriate care.

The guidelines are coming as countries around the world including South Africa, Indonesia and Bangladesh is battling new Delta waves of the virus that have started in India. Efforts are already being made at the World Trade Organization to remove patent protection on COVID-19 vaccine improving access to developing countries, and there is a call for the emergence of intelligent medical interventions on the most important therapies for coronavirus infection.

Tocilizumab belongs to a group of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) used to treat various ailments including arthritis and cancer, and is developed by the Swiss giant Roche. They sell the drug under the name Actemra.

Following the WHO’s recommendations, Doctors Without Borders (recognized by French founders, MSF) urged Roche to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and make them more affordable, and to share information, cell and technology has allowed other manufacturers across the country to make drugs, too.

“These drugs may be useful in treating people with acute and chronic cases of COVID-19 and reducing the need for respiratory and ventilated medical equipment that is in short supply in many places,” said Julien Potet, an epidemiologist at MSF’s Access Campaign. . in words. “Roche needs to move away from business practices and take immediate action to make the drugs more accessible and affordable for everyone and to use them to reduce the cost and transfer technology, knowledge and cell phones to other manufacturers. Many people are at risk.”

Most existing MAbs are expensive, putting them far away from low- and middle-income countries.

MSF said that although tocilizumab has been on the market since 2009, the price has skyrocketed in many countries – from $ 410 in Australia to $ 646 in India and $ 3,625 in the United States at 600mg of COVID-19. The price of tocilizumab is said to be as low as $ 40 a day for 400mg, he added.

Sarilumab, a second WHO-supplied drug, is manufactured by US pharmaceutical company Regeneron and French pharmaceutical manufacturer Sanofi, which sells the drug Kevzara. According to MSF, Regeneron has applied for and been licensed for sarilumab and its derivatives in at least 50 countries and countries.

The WHO also called on manufacturers to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, to approve licenses, unlicensed licenses, or infringe on the rights of others.

“IL-6 receptor blockers remain inaccessible and inadequate worldwide,” Ghebreyesus said.

“Improper distribution of vaccines means that people in low- and middle-income countries are more susceptible to high levels of COVID-19. As a result, the greatest demand for these drugs is in countries that currently have limited access. We need to change this urgently.”

The guidelines follow data analysis from more than 10,000 patients who underwent 27 clinical trials.