A drug being used to fight coronavirus seemingly cured 90% of patients in a groundbreaking trial – with work now under way to make it widely available worldwide.
The COVID-19 patients were diagnosed as severe or critical at two separate hospitals in the eastern province of Anhui in China.
They were given the drug tocilizumab along with routine therapy between February 5 and February 14. If analysis into the trial confirms it to be truly effective, it could have profound consequences for mankind in helping to tackle the worldwide pandemic.
Tocilizumab, otherwise known as Actemra and produced by the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche, is typically used to combat arthritis.