Dupilumab Studied in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19

TUESDAY, Aug. 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Early research suggests that dupilumab, a monoclonal antibody used to treat asthma and eczema, may benefit patients hospitalized with moderate-to-severe COVID-19, according to a study published in the August issue of Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Jennifer Sasson, M.D., from the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, and colleagues conducted a phase 2a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of dupilumab plus standard of care versus placebo plus standard of care in mitigating respiratory failure and death in 40 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

The researchers observed no statistically significant difference in adverse events nor in the primary end point of ventilator-free survival at day 28 between the groups. There were two deaths in the dupilumab group versus five deaths in the placebo group (60-day survival: 89.5 versus 76.2 percent). Among participants who were not in the intensive care unit (ICU) at randomization, three in the dupilumab group were admitted to the ICU versus six in the placebo group (17.7 versus 37.5 percent).

"A large multi-institution study to validate these preliminary results is being designed," Sasson said in a statement. "If successful, this multisite trial will open a new window to treatment of COVID-19 and potentially other viral pneumonias."

Abstract/Full Text