The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended two new drugs for Covid-19, providing even more options for treating the disease, stating that “the extent to which these drugs will save lives depends on how widely available and affordable they are.” The first drug, baricitinib, is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical Covid-19. It is part of a class of drugs called Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKs) which suppress overstimulation of the immune system. WHO recommends that it be administered with corticosteroids.
Baricitinib is an oral drug, used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It provides an alternative to other arthritis drugs called interleukin-6 receptor blockers, recommended by WHO in July 2021. WHO has also conditionally recommended the use of a monoclonal antibody, sotrovimab, to the treatment of mild or moderate Covid-19 in patients at high risk of hospitalization, including older, immunocompromised patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity and those not vaccinated.
Sotrovimab is an alternative to casirivimab-imdevimab, a monoclonal antibody cocktail recommended by the WHO in September 2021. Studies on the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies against Omicron are underway, but the first laboratory studies – explain the WHO – show that sotrovimab remains in business. The panel of experts that developed the guidelines also looked at two other drugs for severe and critical Covid-19: ruxolitinib and tofacitinib. Given their uncertain effects, WHO has made a conditional recommendation against their use.