Joint inflammation drug may be repurposed to treat Covid-19: EMBO Study

A drug used to treat joint inflammation can be repurposed to treat patients with Covid-19, according to a study which may lead to a new treatment option for the deadly disease.

Researchers, including those from Imperial College London in the UK, noted that baricitinib is an oral drug used for treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis -- a chronic inflammatory disorder which affects the joints, causing pain and stiffness.

According to the study, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, the drug may lower inflammation and the quantity of the virus particles present in patients with Covid-19.

Using AI-algorithms, the scientists identified existing drugs capable of blocking both inflammation and infectivity, and they found baricitinib to be a promising repurposing candidate for Covid-19.

They said the drug acts as an inhibitor of janus kinase, a type of molecule in the body that acts as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular functions.

Baricitinib interferes with the inflammatory processes of the immune system and may be a potential treatment candidate for Covid-19, the study noted.

The drug also previously demonstrated ability to inhibit the activity of cell-cell messenger molecules called cytokines, the researchers said.

In test tube studies, and in miniature liver models, the scientists showed that the drug inhibited signalling of cytokines, which are known to overreact and drive inflammation in severe Covid-19 cases.

According to the study, baricitinib also helped reduce the quantity of the novel coronavirus in infected cells, and the level of the signal molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6) -- a predictor of mortality from acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with Covid-19.

When a small pilot study of the drug in three men and one woman with Covid-19 was conducted in Italy, all four patients showed improvements in signs and symptoms such as cough, fever, with reductions in quantity of the virus particles, and blood IL-6 levels after 10-12 days of treatment, the study noted.

"Collectively, these data suggest that baricitinib may lower inflammation and viral load in Covid-19," said Ali Mirazimi, a co-author of the study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

The scientists said more trials of baricitinib are currently underway in 85 hospitalised Covid-19 patients across three hospitals in Northern and Central Italy, with "encouraging initial results in patient outcomes."

"We are integrating and carefully analysing these trial data and providing functional and mechanistic follow-up studies to scrutinise baricitinib's mode of action," said Volker Lauschke, another co-author of the study from Karolinska Institutet.