Interleukin-6 Drug, Tocilizumab, Can Prevent The Death Of COVID-19 Patients? This Is The Expert's Explanation

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) said the interleukin-6 drug, named tocilizumab, was able to reduce and prevent death in COVID-19 patients who had severe symptoms.

According to the explanation of Professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Zullies Ikawati, a number of hospitals in Indonesia do use tocilizumab as a drug given to critically ill COVID-19 patients.

"Tocilizumab has been widely used. However, it is not actually a specific drug for COVID-19. The price is also quite expensive," Zullies told VOI, Wednesday, July 7.

Zullies explained, tocilizumab was originally a drug for autoimmune diseases that attack joints. Experts consider the symptoms of COVID-19 similar to an autoimmune disease that causes a severe inflammatory process in the body's organs, most commonly attacking the lungs.

"When there is an infection like this COVID-19, if there are severe symptoms, then there is a process of lung inflammation. This is what mostly causes people to die," said this member of the Central Board of the Indonesian Pharmacists Association.

Tocilizumab is said to suppress interleukin-6. Interleukin-6 itself is a type of cytokine storm or compounds produced by the body when inflammation or inflammation occurs.

Zullies said, tocilizumab works to bind interleukin-6 with a monoclonal antibody. This binding is done so that interleukin-6 does not work, so it can suppress the potential for inflammation.

"If this cytokine storm that causes inflammation can be suppressed, it can at least help reduce the risk of death. Therefore, this drug is being tried for COVID-19 patients," he said.