LONDON (UK) – Oxford University said on Wednesday a proper study will be conducted whether adalimumab, the world’s best-selling prescription medicine, was an effective treatment for COVID-19 patients. It is part of their latest effort to find an altogether new purpose to existing drugs as potential coronavirus therapies.
Adalimumab, sold by AbbVie under the brand name Humira, is a type of anti-inflammatory called as an anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drug. According to recent studies, COVID-19 patients already consuming anti-TNF drugs for inflammatory bowel disease and inflammatory arthritis have less chances of getting admitted to hospital, Oxford said in a statement.
The trial, called AVID-CC, will be aimed at conducting treatment of people in the community, mainly in care homes, the university said. At least 750 patients from community care settings will be enrolled throughout the UK.
The availability of biosimilar versions of the medicine, which has been used as an anti-flammatory for over two decades, would make it affordable and accessible if the trial becomes successful, it said.
Some treatments have been identified by research for hospitalised COVID-19 patients, including Gilead’s remdesivir as well as the generic steroid drug dexamethasone.
However, there are not yet effective therapies for people who are hospitalised.