It was a pleasure to be able to speak with John Stone (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA) about the findings from his investigations into tocilizumab as a therapy for COVID-19 infection.
His presentation entitled ‘Tocilizumab for COVID-19 Infection: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial’ (Abstract Number: L07) was presented at the ACR Convergence, 5-9 November.
Questions
- What is the rationale for the use of tocilizumab for COVID-19 infection? (0:16)
- What is the rationale for the use of tocilizumab for COVID-19 infection? (1:40)
- What might explain tocilizumab’s lack of efficacy in this treatment setting? (3:07)
- How do these findings compare with other studies of tocilizumab for COVID-19 infection? (4:32)
- Is tocilizumab likely to play any role in the treatment of COVID-19 outcomes? (5:20)
Disclosures: John H. Stone has received research funding from Roche, Principia, Viela Bio and Bristol Myers Squibb; and consulting fees from Roche, Principia, Viela Bio, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Chemocentryx, Celgene, Abbvie, Chugai, Grunenthal, Glaxo Smith Kline, Infla Rx, Insmed, Regeneron, Roivant, Q32 bio, and SpruceBiosciences.
Support: Interview and filming supported by Touch Medical Media Ltd.
Filmed in coverage of virtual ACR Convergence 2020.
