Study: tocilizumab cuts death risk in hospitalised COVID-19 patients

Tocilizumab - an anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis treatment - reduces the risk of death for hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19, NIHR-backed research has found.

University of Oxford researchers also found that the drug reduces the length of hospital admission and the risk of patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

For COVID-19 patients who have significant inflammation and require oxygen, a systemic corticosteroid - such as dexamethasone - and tocilizumab reduces mortality by about one third for patients requiring simple oxygen. This increases to a half for those requiring invasive mechanical ventilation.

The RECOVERY study is examining a range of treatments for hospitalised COVID-19 and has recruited 330 patients in Berkshire, 262 in Buckinghamshire, 370 in Oxfordshire and 310 in Milton Keynes.

Read more on the NIHR website.