European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

TO DOCUMENT SAFETY ASPECTS OF REMDESIVIR AND BARICITINIB IN COVID-19 AFFECTED POPULATION

*Sara Shireen, Mirza Misbah Baig, Madiha Maryam, Umaima Faizeen, Humera Farheen and Simrah Mujahed

ABSTRACT

Today, the entire world has come to a standstill, grappling with a common enemy. The novel coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly proven to be a tougher challenge leading to millions of cases and a staggering number of deaths. Remdesivir is an FDA-approved (and sold under the brand name Veklury) intravenous antiviral drug for use in adult and pediatric patients. Baricitinib is a janus kinase inhibitor, which blocks the activity of one or more of a specific family of enzymes, interfering with the pathway that leads to inflammation. According to the study conducted, it was found that when Remdesivir was given alone in the patient suffering from COVID-19 the mean recovery time was 11.3% and mortality rate was 7.1% Remdesivir significantly reduces the mortality and shows more safety, efficacy and reduced serious adverse effects by absolute 6% and no significant Grade 3 or 4 adverse effects were reported. When Remdesivir was given in combination with Baricitinib was superior to remdesivir alone in reducing recovery time (12.5%) and accelerating improvement in clinical status among patients with Covid-19, notably among those receiving high-flow oxygen or non-invasive ventilation. The mortality rate for baricitinib in combination with remdesivir vs. 7.1% for remdesivir, a relative reduction of 35%. Adverse events and serious adverse events were reported in 41% and 15% of patients treated with baricitinib in combination with remdesivir, respectively, vs. 48% and 20% in patients treated with remdesivir.

Keywords: COVID-19, Remdesivir, Baricitinib.