Tocilizumab

The FDA authorized the emergency use of tocilizumab for certain hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This marks the fourth monoclonal antibody authorized during the pandemic.

Tocilizumab plus prednisone was linked to a sixfold reduced risk for treatment failure in patients with giant cell arteritis, with highest risks reported among women and patients treated with prednisone monotherapy, according to data.

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for tocilizumab to treat hospitalized patients receiving corticosteroids who require supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, according to a press release.

The economic and societal impacts of emerging infectious diseases remain ever present, with COVID-19 being at the forefront.

Biologic infusions administered at home are associated with a 25% increased risk for hospital admission the same or next day, and a 28% higher risk for permanent discontinuation, compared with facility-given infusions, according to data.

This week, the CDC reported that breakthrough infections are rare among the first 101 million fully vaccinated people; tai chi is found to be effective to reduce belly fat in older adults; the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine safety group says its reviewed ‘few’ reports of myocarditis in young people; a follow-up analysis supports tocilizumab in moderate-to-severe COVID-19-associated pneumonia; and lidocaine throat spray reduces cough frequency in patients with refractory chronic cough.

Not everyone can agree on what to call thyroid eye disease.

In this video, Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, professor of dermatology and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, spoke with Healio about COVID-19 treatment options available to patients with psoriasis.

A follow-up analysis of the CORIMUNO-TOCI-1 randomized clinical trial showed that tocilizumab may be considered for treating patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19-associated pneumonia and high C-reactive protein levels.

Tocilizumab, the one biologic therapy that has FDA approval for giant cell arteritis, has shown ongoing efficacy in keeping patients in remission and off steroids, according to a pair of presenters at the Biologic Therapies Summit.