Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for intravenous Actemra (tocilizumab) for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults and pediatric patients (2 years of age and older) who are receiving systemic corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The EUA is based on results from four randomized, controlled studies that evaluated Actemra for the treatment of COVID-19 in more than 5,500 hospitalized patients. The results of these studies suggest that Actemra may improve outcomes in patients receiving corticosteroids and requiring supplemental oxygen or breathing support.
“Even with the availability of vaccines and declines in deaths from COVID-19 in various parts of the world, we continue to see new hospitalizations from severe forms of the disease,” said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. “We are pleased that Actemra is now authorized as an option that may help improve outcomes for adults and children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States.”
“Industries, governments and academic institutions have come together to develop solutions to address the enormous challenges of the pandemic. We are proud of the partnerships that we’ve created and the progress we’ve made in conducting scientifically rigorous trials of Actemra in COVID-19,” said Alexander Hardy, chief executive officer. “We are committed to collaborating closely with our distribution partners to enable access to Actemra in hospitals across the country to help adults and children with COVID-19, as well as people who depend on the medicine for its FDA-approved indications.”
The four randomized, controlled studies included in the EUA submission investigated the safety and efficacy of Actemra in more than 5,500 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The RECOVERY Actemra study was led by researchers in the United Kingdom and included more than 4,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Genentech-sponsored global trials included the placebo-controlled EMPACTA, COVACTA and REMDACTA studies. There have been no new safety signals identified for Actemra in any of these studies. The most common adverse reactions seen (incidence ≥ 3%) are constipation, anxiety, diarrhea, insomnia, hypertension and nausea.
The FDA Letter of Authorization and Fact Sheets for patients and health care professionals are available for download with the latest information on this EUA. For more information on how Genentech is responding to the global COVID-19 pandemic, please visit our COVID-19 response page.
About the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Actemra
Actemra has not been approved by the U.S. FDA in this setting, but the FDA has made Actemra available under an emergency access mechanism called an EUA as a treatment for certain patients with COVID-19. There is limited information known about the safety or effectiveness of using Actemra to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19. The EUA is supported by a Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) declaration that circumstances exist to justify the emergency use of drugs and biological products during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authorization is temporary and does not replace the formal review and approval process. Actemra is authorized under the EUA only for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of Actemra under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner. Genentech has existing distribution channels established to ship Actem...
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