Repurposing rheumatology drugs for COVID-19

Rationale, evidence base, and implications for rheumatology patients

A number of rheumatology drugs are undergoing investigation for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.

In this series of podcasts we talk to the experts about the rationale behind rheumatology drug repurposing, data on the different agents, and the potential impact on rheumatology practice.

Podcasts

Episode 5

Repurposing rheumatology drugs for COVID-19: TNF inhibitors

Philip Robinson discusses why TNF inhibitors may be a favorable treatment option for COVID-19 and outlines the trials that are currently underway.

Episode 4

Repurposing rheumatology drugs for COVID-19: Interleukin inhibitors

Cristina Mussini discusses the current data on interleukin inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19 and explores why tocilizumab has been associated with beneficial outcomes in some studies but not others.

Episode 3

Repurposing rheumatology drugs for COVID-19: JAK inhibitors

Marwan Bukhari talks about the rationale behind investigating baricitinib and other JAK inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19 and outlines the current efficacy data.

Episode 2

Repurposing rheumatology drugs for COVID-19: Hydroxychloroquine

Alfred Kim talks about the initial promise of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 and why it did not stand up to later scrutiny.

Episode 1

Repurposing rheumatology drugs for COVID-19: What do we know?

Jinoos Yazdany discusses the rationale behind investigating these agents and explores the role of rheumatologists in ensuring they are studied as safely and efficiently as possible.

Views from professional organizations

Representatives from EULAR, the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance, and the Lupus Foundation of American identify the potential pitfalls to avoid when it comes to the repurposing of rheumatology drugs for COVID-19.

EULAR President

[Rheumatologists] can bring an extensive knowledge base to ensure that various immune modifiers that act across the range of immune effector function, can be trialled as safely and efficiently as possible.

Chair of the COVID–19 Global Rheumatology Alliance

While there is much suggestive observational data about a number of agents, definitive data can only come from randomized clinical trials so our efforts have to focus on them.

Vice President, Advocacy & Government Relations, Lupus Foundation of America

People with lupus rely greatly on hydroxychloroquine to treat the disease, including reducing disease activity and preventing flares and reducing organ damage.

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Image Credits

Repurposing_heroImg, Philip Robinson, Cristina Mussini, Marwan Bukhari, Al Kim, Jinoos Yazdany, Iain McInnes, Patrick Wildman, Medicine Matters rheumatology/© Springer Healthcare, Google Podcasts/© Google; Google Podcasts and the Google Podcasts logo are trademarks of Google LLC, Apple Podcasts/© Apple Inc.; the Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries, Spotify/© Spotify AB, TuneIn/© TuneIn, Inc., COVID-19/© © dottedyeti / stock.adobe.com

Medicine Matters Rheumatology