Yesterday, pharmaceutical giant Roche stated that it joined forces with Gilead to combine a drug from each of them and test the mix to see if the result is a viable treatment against the severe cases of Covid-19.
From Roche's point of view, the first two phases will include a clinical status, a mortality rate testing, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care. After the treatment is over, the patient is to stay under observation for 60 days.
The partnership includes a Phase III clinical trial where Roche’s Tocilizumab and Gilead’s Remdesivir will undergo tests for efficacy and safety. The test will be conducted on 450 patients from the US, Canada, and Europe. The mixture will be up for trial against a placebo also.
The two companies came together after the two drugs had promising results separately. Roche believes that if combined, the result will be more effective. “We believe that combining an antiviral with an immune modulator could potentially be an effective approach to treating patients with severe disease,” Roche’s CMO, Levi Garraway, stated.
Each of the drugs is viable for treating other diseases, such as arthritis and Ebola, but they showed results in treating extreme inflammation and respiratory deficiency. Moreover, Remdesivir is approved in the US and Japan for emergency use only, at the moment. Analysts say European authorities are thinking about doing the same.
Gilead stock gained 1.52% during yesterday’s trading session; Roche’s added 2.4% in pre-market. Since the beginning of the year, Gilead gained 15.2% in market value, while Roche went up 8.2%. USA500 dropped 6% over the same time frame.
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Sources: thesteet.com, reuters.com, pharmatimes.com
