Interleukin-6, WHO's Suggested 'Effective' Drug To Kill COVID-19: Reduce Potential Death By 13 Percent

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JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the drug interleukin-6 for severe COVID-19 patients. WHO also urged manufacturers to join efforts to accelerate access to the drug.

This WHO call is based on findings from a prospective and live tissue meta-analysis pioneered by WHO, the largest drug analysis to date. This is the first drug found to be effective against COVID-19 since corticosteroids were recommended by the WHO in September 2020.

"Patients with severe or critically ill COVID-19 often experience an overreaction of the immune system, which can seriously endanger the patient's health. The drugs Interleukin-6 - tocilizumab and sarilumab - act to suppress this overreaction," the WHO press release said. , Wednesday, July 7th.

According to WHO, prospective and live tissue meta-analyses showed that in severe or critical patients, administration of this drug reduced the potential for death by 13 percent compared to usual care.

This means that there will be a reduction of 15 deaths per 1000 patients, and 28 fewer deaths per 1000 critically ill patients.

In addition, the use of the drug was likely to reduce mechanical ventilation among severe and critically ill patients by up to 28 percent, compared to usual care. This means that 23 patients are fewer than a thousand patients who require mechanical ventilation.

To increase access and reach of these life-saving products, WHO is asking manufacturers to lower prices and provide supplies to low- and middle-income countries, especially those experiencing a COVID-19 spike.

According to Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), tocilizumab belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which are used in the treatment of various diseases such as cancer. These drugs are very expensive and therefore almost impossible to access for low- and middle-income countries.

Another mAb drug currently recommended by WHO, sarilumab, is under broad patent protection globally, posing challenges to ensuring that production and supply are not compromised, MSF said.