A combination of the antiviral drug remdesivir and the anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib reduced recovery time and accelerated improvement, especially among patients receiving supplemental oxygen without invasive ventilation, according to a large, international study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients published in the New England Journal of Medicine today.

Severe COVID-19 appears to be associated with an exaggerated inflammatory response in some patients, leading researchers to consider anti-inflammatory medications like baricitinib as potential therapies. Remdesivir, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on Oct 22 to treat hospitalized COVID patients, has thus far met with mixed results when used alone.

Researchers at 67 trial sites in eight countries, including the United States, randomly assigned 1,033 patients hospitalized with COVID-19–related pneumonia to a treatment group (515) receiving a combination of the two drugs, and a control group (518) receiving only remdesivir and placebo.

Source: Remdesivir combo reduces COVID-19 recovery time | CIDRAP