On 28th September, Monday, a 41-year-old man from Manchester became the first coronavirus patient in the UK to be treated with an experimental arthritis drug.
According to the Sky News, Farhan Hamid is in Intensive Care Unit at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and was given a dose of otilimab - a drug presently under investigation as a potential treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. He was recruited in the Covid-19 trial earlier this month.
The research aims to establish whether otilimab can treat severe lung disease developed as a result of Covid-19. It is funded by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust is currently leading the trial. Researchers have reportedly wanted to roll it out to 800 patients across five UK hospitals.
The Sky News reported that those taking part will be allocated into two groups at random, with half receiving a one-hour, single infusion of otilimab and the other a placebo intravenous therapy, in addition to standard care. The results from the study are expected in the first half of 2021.
