Namilumab drug — an antibody already in late-stage trials to treat rheumatoid arthritis — may be used to effectively treat some patients hospitalised with Covid-19 pneumonia, according to a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.
However, the researchers said that as the sample size has been small, more investigations are needed in this regard.
The team, including researchers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford, UK, had tested namilumab in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia. They were receiving ‘usual’ care, as well as having high levels in their blood of a marker of inflammation known as C reactive protein (CRP).
“Our research has provided important proof-of-concept evidence that namilumab reduces inflammation in hospitalised patients with Covid-19 pneumonia,” said Ben Fisher, co-chief investigator of the trial at the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB).
“However, our sample size is too small for a definitive assessment of clinical outcomes and further studies are required for this, as well as to
understand better the population that may benefit most,” Fisher said.
Namilumab targets a ‘cytokine’ which is naturally secreted by immune cells in the body, but in uncontrolled levels is believed to be a key driver of the excessive and dangerous lung inflammation seen in Covid-19 patients.
The trial carried out between June 2020 and February 2021 involved patients aged over 16 with Covid-19 pneumonia either being treated on a ward or Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at nine hospitals across the UK.
The study involved 54 patients receiving ‘usual care’ — treatment with steroids and oxygen or ventilation — and 57 patients given usual care as well as a single intravenous dose of 150mg of namilumab.
As well as Covid-19 pneumonia, all study participants had CRP levels greater than 40mg/l. The researchers compared the probability of the reduction of levels of CRP in patients.