Time to recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia similar for abatacept, cenicriviroc, infliximab

Time to recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia does not appear to differ following treatment with abatacept, cenicriviroc, or infliximab among hospitalized patients, according to a study.

Researchers reported the results of three substudies from 95 hospitals at 85 clinical research sites in the US and Latin America. The population included 1,971 hospitalized patients (mean age 54.8 years, 61.8 percent men) who were at least 18 years of age and with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection within 14 days and evidence of pulmonary involvement.

The patients were randomly assigned to receive treatment with a single infusion of abatacept (10 mg/kg; maximum dose 1,000 mg) or infliximab (5 mg/kg) or a 28-day oral course of cenicriviroc (300-mg loading dose, followed by 150 mg twice per day).

The primary outcome was time to recovery by day 28, which was assessed using an 8-point ordinal scale (higher scores indicate better health). Recovery was defined as the first day the participant scored at least 6 on the ordinal scale.

Results showed no significant between-group differences in the time to recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia among patients treated with abatacept (recovery rate ratio [RRR], 1.12, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.98–1.28; p=0.09), those treated with cenicriviroc (RRR, 1.01, 95 percent CI, 0.86–1.18; p=0.94), or infliximab (RRR, 1.12, 95 percent CI, 0.99–1.28; p=0.08) as compared with those who received placebo.

All-cause 28-day mortality was 11.0 percent with abatacept vs 15.1 percent with placebo (odds ratio [OR], 0.62, 95 percent CI, 0.41–0.94), 13.8 percent with cenicriviroc vs 11.9 percent with placebo (OR, 1.18, 95 percent CI, 0.72–1.94), and 10.1 percent with infliximab vs 14.5 percent with placebo (OR, 0.59, 95 percent CI, 0.39-0.90).

Likewise, safety outcomes did not significantly differ between active treatment and placebo, including secondary infections, in all three substudies.