GSK narrows focus on elderly in trial to treat pneumonia from COVID-19

By Ludwig Burger

FRANKFURT, Feb 25 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline will
extend a trial testing an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug
on patients suffering from pneumonia related to COVID-19 to
focus on the elderly as it seeks to firm up encouraging findings
so far.

A trial started in May last year has shown that the drug
known as otilimab helps patients over 70 with severe COVID-19
get off mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygen support
faster, the British drugmaker said on Thursday.

The benefit for younger trial participants was not clear
enough to merit further investigation, prompting the re-focus on
the elderly in a follow-up trial with a targeted 350
participants.

After 28 days of treatment, 65.1% of elderly patients on
otilimab plus standard of care were alive and free of intensive
respiratory support, compared to 45.9% of patients who received
the standard of care alone, according to the trial results.

Effective COVID-19 treatments are still in high demand as
vaccination campaigns are only ramping up gradually and as new
variants of the coronavirus spread rapidly.

"Given the profound impact this pandemic is having on the
elderly and the encouraging data we are sharing today, we are
hopeful this finding will be replicated in the additional
cohort," said Christopher Corsico, GSK Senior Vice President
Development.

GSK, which acquired rights to otilimab from German biotech
firm Morphosys in 2013, said it expects first results
of the extended trial in the third quarter of this year, to be
followed by talks with regulators if the initial findings are
confirmed.

Many patients with severe COVID-19 suffer from an
over-reaction of the immune system known as cytokine storm and
GSK aims to reaffirm that the drug, originally designed to fight
an autoimmune disease, can help.

Attempts to repurpose existing drugs to rein in an
overactive immune system in COVID-19 patients have had mixed
results.

AstraZeneca's blood cancer drug Calquence failed to
help severely ill COVID-19 patients. Roche's arthritis
drug Actemra, in turn, was shown to cut the risk of death among
patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19.

GSK, and other drugmakers, are also working on
antibody-based drugs that block the virus directly.

GSK has also brought to bear its knowledge on adjuvants,
which are efficacy boosters used in many vaccines, working with
partners including France's Sanofi.

In addition, it is collaborating with CureVac on a
next generation of vaccines that protect against new coronavirus
variants.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)