Arthritis drug to be given to NHS patients after being found to lower risk of Covid death

A second coronavirus treatment which lowers the risk of death will be given to NHS patients after successful trials by British scientists.

Severely ill patients on oxygen will receive tocilizumab, a drug usually used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, which dampens down the immune system.

Many people die from Covid because their immune system goes into overdrive, causing irreparable damage to vital organs – but tocilizumab stops signalling molecules called cytokines from rousing the immune system, preventing a deadly "cytokine storm".

Trials show tocilizumab lowered the chance of death by 14 per cent, and it will be given alongside the steroid dexamethasone, which reduces the risk of dying by one third.

Watch: Arthritis drug could help save lives of Covid patients

It also reduces the time spent in hospital by five days, which could significantly reduce pressure on the NHS.

Updated guidance will be sent to NHS trusts and clinicians on Monday, recommending that they use the drug for hospitalised patients.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said: "Today's excellent news is further proof the UK is at the forefront of the global mission to find safe and effective treatments for this terrible virus.

"I want to thank all those who have played a part in generating these tremendous results, from the British scientists and researchers behind the trial to the thousands of patients who took part across the country.

"We are working quickly and closely with colleagues across the health system and sector to ensure every NHS patient who needs this treatment should be able to access it, reducing further pressures on the NHS and potentially saving thousands of lives."

Scientists discovered the drug was effective during the Recovery clinical trial, funded by the UK Government through the National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation.

Last month, the international clinical trial Remap-Cap, also funded by the Government, found that a tocilizumab and sarilumab reduced the risk of death for patients when administered within 24 hours of them entering intensive care.

The latest findings by Recovery, run by the University of Oxford, show a much larger group of hospitalised patients can also benefit from the drug if it is given to those outside intensive care with oxygen deficiency and showing signs of worsening – meaning thousands more lives could potentially be saved.

Prof Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, said: "Throughout the pandemic, where the NHS leads the world has followed – from vaccinating the first patients outside of clinical trials to helping get dexamethasone into frontline care, and now to driving forward research on another breakthrough treatment.

"This is another positive development in our continued fight against the virus, and alongside the rollout of the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in our history – with over 10 million people receiving protection so far – we can start to look to the future with hope."

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer, said: "These results present another important advance in our fight against Covid-19 and are good news for patients and clinicians around the world. It's a combination of both effective therapeutics and vaccines that will mean an end to this pandemic."

The Government is working closely with the manufacturer Roche to ensure the drug is available across NHS healthcare settings.

It is the second treatment that Recovery – the world's largest randomised controlled clinical trial – has found to be effective against Covid, following its discovery of the world-first treatment with dexamethasone in June, which reduces the risk of death by 20 per cent for patients on oxygen and 35 per cent for ventilated patients.

Scientists say the benefits of using tocilizumab with dexamethasone are in addition to the benefits shown by dexamethasone alone.

Athimalaipet Ramanan, professor of paediatric rheumatology at the University of Bristol, said: "After dexamethasone, this is the most significant advance in the treatment of Covid that has an impact in reducing deaths."

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