WHO-Led Trial To Study 3 Anti-Inflammatory Drugs For Covid Patients

"These therapies - artesunate, imatinib and infliximab - were selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalised COVID-19 patients," WHO said in a statement on the Solidarity PLUS trial.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday a clinical trial in 52 countries would study three anti-inflammatory drugs as potential treatments for COVID-19 patients. "These therapies - artesunate, imatinib and infliximab - were selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalised COVID-19 patients," it said in a statement on the Solidarity PLUS trial. Artesunate is already used for severe malaria, imatinib for certain cancers, and infliximab for diseases of the immune system such as Crohn's Disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The original Solidarity trial last year found that all four treatments evaluated - remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon - had little or no effect in helping COVID patients.