Researchers say arthritis drug “reduces deaths from elderly Covid-19 by two thirds”

An arthritis drug has been found to reduce deaths in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 by as much as two-thirds, providing doctors with a powerful new weapon against the disease.

The daily pill, first awarded as a potential breakthrough Covid by a British company, cuts deaths by 71% in those with moderate or severe illness, the researchers say.

Importantly, it works in the elderly, giving hope that it will save the most vulnerable.

Called baricitinib and marketed under the brand name Olumiant, it is a relatively new drug for rheumatoid arthritis that has only been available for three years.

An arthritis drug has been found to reduce deaths in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 by as much as two-thirds. Image: Stock

But in February he was identified as a strong candidate to help deal with what was then the new Covid-19 threat.

The drug was chosen by London-based BenevolentAI, which scanned thousands of existing drugs for signs that they could fight Covid.

His artificial intelligence program predicted that baricitinib would “reduce the ability of the virus to infect lung cells.”

Now the idea has been validated with pan-European researchers, led by the Swedish Karolinska Institute, who report that baricitinib reduces mortality rates in hospitalized patients with the disease by two-thirds.

Researchers say the daily pill, first awarded as a potential breakthrough Covid by a UK company, reduces deaths by 71% in those with moderate or severe illness. Image: Stock

The development happened as:

• Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline told The Mail on Sunday that it has already produced “millions of doses” of a vaccine and hopes it will be available alongside another vaccine developed by Pfizer early next year;

• A further 26,860 Covid cases were recorded yesterday – a weekly increase of 7.6% – along with 462 deaths within 28 days of a positive test;

• Professor Susan Michie, a member of the government’s science advisory group on emergencies, urged the public to redouble their efforts so that they “be able” to spend Christmas with loved ones;

• Data from the Bureau of National Statistics found that England had seen a 4% increase in daily infections in the first week of November, suggesting that its spread was slowing;

• The heads of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have called for passengers to be able to carry out tests before leaving the UK rather than being quarantined for two weeks after returning.

Called baricitinib and marketed under the brand name Olumiant, it is a relatively new drug for rheumatoid arthritis that has only been available for three years

Last night, NHS cancer specialist Professor Justin Stebbing from Imperial College London predicted that baricitinib would help save thousands of lives. He said: ‘The history of Covid treatments hasn’t left many drugs standing. What is left standing are two drugs discovered by the British. “

The other is the steroid dexamethasone, which has reduced the risk of death in seriously ill Covid patients by 33%.

The results, in the journal Science Advances, come from patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia in two hospitals, in Italy and Spain.

Professor Volker Lauschke, from Karolinska, who led the study, said: ‘These results are particularly encouraging as the study included a large cohort of elderly patients, an often excluded group.