Please read Dr. Balevic’s article in JAMA Network Open titled, “Abatacept Pharmacokinetics and Exposure Response in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: A Secondary Analysis of the ACTIV-1 IM Randomized Clinical Trial.“
Infection with COVID-19 can result in a clinical spectrum ranging from asymptomatic illness to hospitalization and even death. Mortality in patients with severe COVID-19 often occurs secondary to a heightened systemic inflammatory response known as a cytokine storm. This cytokine storm is characterized by significant elevations of multiple inflammatory cytokines. Due to the strong link between the dysregulated immune system and outcomes in COVID-19, multiple immunomodulatory drugs have been studied in the treatment of severe COVID-19.
Abatacept (Orencia; Bristol Myers Squibb) is a recombinant fusion protein that inhibits T-cell activation, thereby reducing multiple inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor α, that are part of the COVID-19 cytokine storm. In the ACTIV-1 (Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines) Immune Modulator (IM) multicenter randomized clinical trial, abatacept, combined with standard of care that often included remdesivir and corticosteroids, decreased mortality in patients hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19, but the primary end point of time to recovery was not met. To read the full article.
Abatacept Pharmacokinetics and Exposure Response in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: A Secondary Analysis of the ACTIV-1 IM Randomized Clinical Trial. Balevic SJ, Benjamin DK Jr, Powderly WG, Smith PB, Gonzalez D, McCarthy MW, Shaw LK, Lindsell CJ, Bozzette S, Williams D, Linas BP, Blamoun J, Javeri H, Hornik CP; ACTIV-1 IM Study Group. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Apr 1;7(4):e247615. PMID: 38662372 PMCID: PMC11046337 DOI: 1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.7615