JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib treats severe COVID-19 patients: being evaluated

Incyte and Novartis Pharmaceuticals recently announced that they plan to launch a Phase III clinical trial (RUXCOVID study) to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the combination of ruxolitinib and the treatment of COVID-19-related cytokine stormsThe clinical trial will be sponsored by Incyte, which sells JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib in the U.S., while Novartis is responsible for selling ruxolitinib outside the U.S"Our goal is to further establish the possible role of ruxolitinib in balancing the immune response, which may improve cytokine storms in patients with COVID-19," said Steven Stein, Incyte's chief medical officerIncyte also said it plans to launch a separate Extended Access Program (EAP) in the U.Sto make the treatment available to patients with COVID-19-associated cytokine storms"The drug has a large commercial and clinical supply in the U.Sand is ramping up production in response to the epidemic," said Steven SteinWe recognize the urgent medical needs of patients with severe COVID-19 infections, and we are working with the FDA to move the RUXCOVID and EAP studies forward quickly."