This archive report was first published on 21 July 2020.
July 21, 2020
Kenya has joined a global clinical trial to test the effectiveness of Roche's arthritis drug Actemra in treating Covid-19 patients. The study, dubbed Empacta, aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug in patients hospitalised with pneumonia.
Developed and sold by Roche, Actemra is an injectable drug for adults with moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded satisfactorily to other anti-rheumatic drugs. The drug has been shown to reduce the number of days patients on mechanical ventilation and cut back on cases of death and ICU admission.
However, in international studies, the anti-inflammatory drug has failed in a coronavirus trial. In an Italian study, it did not help patients with early-stage Covid-19 pneumonia.
But a recent finding by a team of clinical researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrated that the drug prevented death by 45 per cent in a controlled study of 154 patients with severe Covid-19 illness requiring mechanical ventilation.
“This is a watershed moment for Kenya and us at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, that we can participate in an international clinical trial that is testing the effectiveness of this novel drug on patients here,” said Dr Reena Shah, associate professor of medicine in infectious diseases and the principal investigator of the study in Kenya.
“Disparities and lack of diversity in medical research hold the global community back, and Roche Kenya is proud to help close this gap. We are so glad to see the first Kenyan patients start on the Empacta trial,” said Dr Beatrice Nyawira, medical director at Roche.
