Patients with severe Covid-19 who took imatinib had a lower risk of death within the next 90 days, according to a new Dutch study. Also, critically ill patients needed shorter intubation in ICUs and less extra oxygen.
Researchers at the University of Amsterdam Medical Center, who made the announcement at the American Pulmonary Society International Conference in San Francisco, studied the effectiveness of imatinib in 385 patients treated with covid-19 placebo (study placebo) study CounterCOVID. All patients – both in the placebo and imatinib groups – were taking other Covid-19 medicines at the same time, mainly dexamethasone (72%).
It was found that on the 90th day after administration of the test drug, 18 patients (9.1%) had died in the imatinib group versus 31 (16.5%) in the placebo control group. Patients taking imatinib, on average, were intubated for seven days versus twelve days in the placebo group. The mean length of stay in the ICU was nine days in the imatinib group compared with 13 days in the placebo group.
Imatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is mainly used as an oncology drug, as it blocks a protein that helps cancer cells. The drug can also block the dangerous damage to the small blood vessels in the lungs under highly inflammatory conditions, such as those often caused by severe Covid-19.
The researchers concluded that “imatinib is beneficial because it reduces pulmonary edema in acute respiratory distress syndrome. “If other studies confirm our findings, imatinib could make a significant contribution to the treatment of Covid-19.” Three more clinical trials of imatinib are already underway and their results are awaited.
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