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 A trial started in May last year has shown that the drug known as
otilimab helps patients over 70 with severe COVID-19 get off
mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygen support faster, the
British drugmaker said on Thursday.
The benefit for younger trial participants was not clear enough to
merit further investigation, prompting the re-focus on the elderly
in a follow-up trial with a targeted 350 participants.
After 28 days of treatment, 65.1% of elderly patients on otilimab
plus standard of care were alive and free of intensive respiratory
support, compared to 45.9% of patients who received the standard of
care alone, according to the trial results.
Effective COVID-19 treatments are still in high demand as
vaccination campaigns are only ramping up gradually and as new
variants of the coronavirus spread rapidly.
"Given the profound impact this pandemic is having on the elderly
and the encouraging data we are sharing today, we are hopeful this
finding will be replicated in the additional cohort," said
Christopher Corsico, GSK Senior Vice President Development.
GSK, which acquired rights to otilimab from German biotech firm
Morphosys in 2013, said it expects first results of the extended
trial in the third quarter of this year, to be followed by talks
with regulators if the initial findings are confirmed.
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 Many patients with severe
COVID-19 suffer from an over-reaction of the
immune system known as cytokine storm and GSK
aims to reaffirm that the drug, originally
designed to fight an autoimmune disease, can
help.
Attempts to repurpose existing drugs to rein in
an overactive immune system in COVID-19 patients
have had mixed results.
AstraZeneca's blood cancer drug Calquence failed to help severely
ill COVID-19 patients. Roche's arthritis drug Actemra, in turn, was
shown to cut the risk of death among patients hospitalised with
severe COVID-19.
GSK, and other drugmakers, are also working on antibody-based drugs
that block the virus directly.
GSK has also brought to bear its knowledge on adjuvants, which are
efficacy boosters used in many vaccines, working with partners
including France's Sanofi.
In addition, it is collaborating with CureVac on a next generation
of vaccines that protect against new coronavirus variants.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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