Oxford to Study Adalimumab as COVID-19 Treatment

The University of Oxford is gearing up to launch a trial of the anti-inflammatory drug adalimumab as a treatment for COVID-19 patients in community care homes.

The phase 2 trial will evaluate whether the drug can reduce inflammation and prevent the disease from becoming more serious or lead to death. It aims to enroll 750 patients across the UK. Recruitment for the trial is expected to begin in late October.

The trial is sponsored by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, an initiative set up by Wellcome, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard. Sandoz will be providing the drug for the trial.

Adalimumab is an anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drug used for a variety of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

Branded as Humira, AbbVie’s adalimumab is the world’s top-selling drug with global sales of approximately $5 billion in 2019. — Jordan Williams