Tocilizumab: Still of Limited Benefit for Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia

Given the acute clinical deterioration that can develop in association with high serum interleukin-6 levels during the second week of COVID-19's course, the clinically approved interleukin-6 inhibitor, tocilizumab, seems logical as a treatment. However, despite promising observational studies, controlled trials have found more-limited benefit (NEJM JW Infect Dis Jan 2021) while largely excluding the underserved populations most affected by the pandemic. In the industry-supported EMPACTA trial, researchers randomized 389 patients from six countries (56% Hispanic or Latino; 15% Black; 13% American Indian or Alaska Native) to the addition of either tocilizumab or placebo to standard care for hospitalized patients older than 18 years with COVID…