Olokizumab reduces the risks of death in hospitalized patients with moderate and severe COVID-19

Aim – to evaluate the efficacy and safety of olokizumab in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe coronavirus disease COVID-19. Material and methods. A multicenter non-interventional retrospective study of olokizumab treatment in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 was conducted. The initial population in this study included 2926 patients with COVID-19. Patients with moderate or severe disease who were taking corticosteroids as part of standard therapy were selected for this analysis. The final population was 1738 patients. A test group (standard therapy: corticosteroids, antiviral, pathogenetic or symptomatic therapy in combination with olokizumab) and a comparison group (standard therapy only) were formed. Each group included 869 patients. The primary end point was all-cause mortality from the start of anti-inflammatory therapy to the end of follow-up. We also analyzed the incidence of transfer and the length of stay of patients in the intensive care unit, the duration of hospitalization, as well as the change in C-reactive protein level. Results and discussion. It was found that olokizumab significantly reduces the all-cause mortality compared with standard therapy: 54 (6.21%) cases compared with 111 (12.77%) in the control arm, p<0.001, odds ratio (OR) 2.21 [1.57;3.1]. The results of factor analysis confirmed that olokizumab increases the odds of recovery, OR 2.41 (95% CI 1.64–3.54, p<0.001). In addition, patients in olokizumab group showed significantly lower plasma CRP levels compared with control group. Already on the 2nd day after the start of therapy the CRP level was almost 2 times lower in the olokizumab group than in the control group (the median was 13 [5.6;28.55] mg/l and 25 [15.3;79.25] mg/L in the olokizumab and comparison groups, respectively). Conclusion. The results of the study confirm the clinical data on the efficacy of olokizumab as therapy for COVID-19 patients. © 2022 Tomsk Polytechnic University, Publishing House. All rights reserved.