WHO recommends two new drugs in COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially recommended more, this time two new drugs for the treatment of COVID-19, thus providing even more treatment options for the disease. As suggested by the WHO, the actual effectiveness of these drugs in saving the lives of COVID-19 patients will depend on their availability and affordability.

The first drug, baricitinib , is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19.

It belongs to a group of medicines called Janus kinase inhibitors (iJAK), which stop the immune system from being overstimulated. Baricitinib is an oral drug, so far known as a drug used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It is an alternative to other drugs for the treatment of arthritis belonging to the group of interleukin-6 receptor blockers recommended by the WHO for the treatment of COVID-19 as early as July 2021.

The WHO guidelines recommend the administration of baricitinib together with previously recommended glucocorticosteroids.

Among the latest recommendations, there is also the conditionally approved monoclonal antibody sotrovimab.

Sotrovimab is recommended for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at high risk of hospitalization.

This group includes: elderly patients, immunocompromised patients and those suffering from diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

Unvaccinated persons are also included among those with a higher risk of hospitalization.

Sotrovimab is an alternative to a monoclonal cocktail consisting of two monoclonal antibodies: casirivimab and imdevimab , recommended as early as September 2021 by the WHO.

Research is currently underway on the effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies against a new variant of the coronavirus - Omicron. Research is at an early stage, although laboratory test results already available show that sotrovimab retains its activity against this mutation of the virus as well.

A panel of experts developing treatment guidelines for COVID-19 also looked at two other drugs: ruxolitinib and tofacitinib 'targeted' for severe and critical COVID-19. However, given their uncertain behavior, the WHO issued a conditional recommendation against their use.

Recommendations that WHO has published on its website: https://www.who.int/news/item/14-01-2022-who-recommends-two-new-drugs-to-treat-covid-19 are the eighth already updated guidelines for COVID-19 therapy.

They are based on evidence from seven studies involving over 4,000 patients with mild to moderate

and the severe and critical course of COVID-19.

To ensure global drug supply and fair and sustainable access to new recommended therapies, WHO is in talks with manufacturers. The international pandemic program "Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator" (ACT-A) is working with pharmaceutical companies to find comprehensive plans to make treatment available also for low- and middle-income countries.

The goal of this collaboration is to quickly implement new therapies around the world, not just in rich countries. ACT-A also wants to extend the scope of licensing to make new and effective products more affordable and therefore more accessible to patients all over the world.

Two newly recommended drugs - baricitinib and sotrovimab - have entered the WHO's pre-qualification program,

which evaluates the quality, efficacy and safety of priority health products to make them more accessible to patients in lower income countries.