Further Studies Show Conflicting Results of Arthritis Drug for Severe COVID-19

The jury is still out on whether Roche’s arthritis drug, Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab), is helpful for the most severe cases of COVID-19. Researchers out of Brazil published a small study in the British Medical Journal that did not find the addition of Actemra to standard of care helped the most severe cases. This is a different finding than in several previous trials, including a larger, 800-patient study that found significant benefit.