Eli Lilly: Baricitinib, Remdesivir reduce COVID-19 hospitalization

Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Incyte said Monday Baricitinib in combination with Remdesivir met the primary endpoint of reduction of time to recovery in comparison with just Remdesivir in a COVID-19 treatment trial.

The Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT-2), sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, revealed a one-day reduction in median recovery time for the overall patient population treated with Baricitinib in combination with Remdesivir.

"This finding was statistically significant," a statement from Eli Lilly said. "Recovery was defined as the participant being well enough for hospital discharge, meaning the participant either no longer required supplemental oxygen or ongoing medical care in the hospital, or was no longer hospitalized at Day 29."

Study investigators said the combination also met a key secondary endpoint comparing patient outcomes at Day 15.

"We are pleased with these data from the ACTT-2 study," Patrik Jonsson, Lilly senior vice president and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines, said in a statement. "There is an urgent need to identify COVID-19 treatments, and we will continue to work with NIAID to understand these data and next steps on Baricitinib's role moving forward."

Eli Lilly is currently participating in a multisite and single-site investigator-initiated trials in Europe and North America for hospitalized coronavirus patients.

"These data allow us to better understand Baricitinib's role in potentially improving outcomes for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and we look forward to continuing this research alongside our other initiatives to combat COVID-19," Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly's senior vice president and chief scientific officer, said.

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