Treatment of severe COVID-19 patients with tocilizumab along with standard care appears to be not superior to standard care alone for improving clinical outcomes at 15 days, suggested a study published in the BMJ. The study was stopped early as there were increased number of deaths among the patients who received the drug.

An increased number of deaths at 15 days was noted in severe COVID-19 patients who were administered tocilizumab, which contradicts previous observational studies that indicated a benefit of the drug. Scientists, including those from Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo in Brazil, have stated that these contradictory results must be evaluated in future studies. They added that tocilizumab blocks interleukin-6 which can go into overdrive in some COVID-19 patients… (HT – PTI, January 21, 2021)