The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi’s Kevzara (sarilumab) to treat polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) in adult patients.
Kevzara® (sarilumab) Approved by FDA as First and Only Biologic Indicated for Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Sanofi presented data from a Phase 2b long-term extension study (LTS) evaluating tolebrutinib in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS). The results showed that after 48 weeks of treatment, tolebrutinib reduced multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These data are being presented as ePosters at the 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) on October 13 – 15, 2021.
As the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the two-drug treatment cocktail, casirivimab/imdevimab, for people with COVID-19, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on the US pharmaceutical corporation Regeneron, the manufacturer and patent holder of these drugs, to take immediate actions to ensure they are affordable and accessible for everyone who needs them and forego any monopoly on these new treatments.
The two drugs – tocilizumab and sarilumab – were found to curb the mortality rate in people with severe COVID-19 by 8.5%, and also accelerated patients’ recovery time. The drugs also reduced the length of time that critically-ill patients spent in intensive care units by approximately a week.
Imperial College London in the UK has reported that the REMAP-CAP trial of two arthritis drugs, tocilizumab and sarilumab may reduce mortality in sickest Covid-19 patients who need support in an intensive care unit (ICU).
Roche’s Actemra (tocilizumab) and Sanofi’s Kevzara (sarilumab) have been found to cut the risk of death in critically ill COVID-19 patients in a study led by Imperial College London.
Tocilizumab and sarilumab reduce COVID-19 patient mortality by 8.5 percent, data shows
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi today announced the presentation of positive results from the pivotal Phase 2 trial for the PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo® (cemiplimab) in patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) who had progressed on or were intolerant to hedgehog inhibitor (HHI) therapy. The data were shared in a late-breaking presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020, and form the basis of regulatory submissions, including in the U.S. and European Union.
In yet another hit for IL-6 inhibitors in COVID-19, Sanofi and Regeneron's Kevzara failed a study in hundreds of severe and critical patients—and the partners are now giving up on the rheumatoid arthritis med as a coronavirus treatment.