Japan approves rheumatoid drug Baricitinib for COVID-19 treatment

Japan’s health ministry approved on Friday the use of rheumatoid arthritis drug Baricitinib for COVID-19 patients, the third such approval following the drugs remdesivir and dexamethasone.

Eli Lilly & Co’s Japan subsidiary had applied to regulators for the new use of the drug in December.

Baricitinib is an anti-inflammatory treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease.

Its use as a potential treatment for severe cases of Covid-19, which is accompanied by severe lung inflammation, was first suggested by drug discovery company BenevolentAI in February.

Baricitinib is one of several drugs being tested by NIAID in combination with remdesivir, which a NIAID study published in May found reduces median hospitalization times by four days.

Reuters