China approves use of Roche arthritis drug for coronavirus patients

China will use a Roche Holding AG arthritis drug to treat some coronavirus patients in severe conditions, health authorities said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to build up treatment regimens to help the infected recover.

Tocilizumab, sold by the Swiss pharma giant under the trade name Actemra, can be prescribed to coronavirus patients who show serious lung damage and show elevated level of a protein called Interleukin 6, which could indicate inflammation or immunological diseases, the National Health Commission said in the latest version of its treatment guidelines published online.

There is no clinical trial evidence yet that the drug will be effective on coronavirus patients, however. Actemra also has not received approval from China’s National Medical Product Administration to be sold for use for coronavirus infections.

Chinese researchers recently registered a 3-month clinical trial for Actemra that will recruit 188 coronavirus patients and take place from Feb. 10 to May 10, according to records shown on China’s clinical trials registration database.

Read more via Reuters