A drug company says that adding an anti-inflammatory medicine to a drug already widely used for hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients shortens their time to recovery by an additional day. All study participants received remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug previously shown to reduce the time to recovery, defined as being well enough to leave the hospital, by four days on average. Those who also were given baricitinib recovered one day sooner than those given remdesivir alone, Lilly said. Lilly said it planned to discuss with regulators the possible emergency use of baricitinib for hospitalized Covid-19 patients. Based on current pricing, the government would pay $105 per patient per day, and for people with private insurance, hospitals would pay about $150 per day, Lilly said.

Source: Manila Times September 14, 2020 17:10 UTC