Treatment of Covid 19 in hospitalized patients with pneumonia and need for respiratory support, green light from the Italian drug agency Aifa to the anti-inflammatory anakinra and to two other drugs (baricitinib and sarilumab).
“In the extraordinary meeting of 23 September – informs the national regulatory body in a note – the Technical Scientific Commission (CTS) of Aifa evaluated the new evidence that has become available for use for the treatment of Covid-19 by anakinra, baricitinib and sarilumab, immunomodulating drugs, currently authorized for other indications. The three drugs, while having their own specificities, are added to tocilizumab in the treatment of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 with worsening pneumonia undergoing various levels of support with oxygen therapy.. This decision, based on the evidence recently published in the literature, widens the number of therapeutic options and at the same time makes it possible to avoid that the possible lack of tocilizumab or one of these three drugs could have a negative impact on the possibilities of treatment “.
In a meeting today, the agency adds, “the Aifa Board of Directors approved the inclusion of the three drugs anakinra, baricitinib and sarilumab in the list of Law 648/96, which allows coverage to be paid by the National Health Service. The provision will be effective after publication in the Official Gazette “.