Tocilizumab, sold under the brand name Actemra, is an intravenous anti-inflammatory monoclonal antibody drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It was added to the trial in April 2020 for patients with COVID-19 who required oxygen and had evidence of inflammation.
The study data were from 2,022 COVID-19 patients who were randomly allocated to receive tocilizumab by intravenous infusion and who were compared with 2,094 patients randomly allocated to usual care alone. Researchers said 82% of all patients were taking a systemic steroid such as dexamethasone.
Results showed that treatment with tocilizumab significantly reduced deaths – with 596 (29%) of the patients in the tocilizumab group dying within 28 days, compared with 694 (33%) patients in the usual care group.