BRIEF—WHO adds two MAb drugs for use in severely ill COVID-19 patients

The World Health Organization (WHO) has added “lifesaving” interleukin-6 receptor blockers to its list of treatments for COVID-19, only the second drugs to be recommended as effective against the disease – as the pandemic continues to accelerate across the world.

One is Swiss pharma giant Roche’s Actemra (tocilizumab), which belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that are used in the treatment of various diseases including arthritis and cancer. Actemra recently received US Food and Drug Administration approval for emergency use in COVID-19 patients

Sarilumab, the second MAb recommended by the WHO, is made by US pharmaceutical company Regeneron and French drugmaker Sanofi, which market the product under the brand name Kevzara.