Drug Discovery and Development

FDA approves Olumiant for treating some hospitalized COVID-19 patients

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Olumiant

[Olumiant image courtesy of Lilly]

The JAK inhibitor Olumiant (baricitinib) from Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) and Lilly (NYSE:LLY) has scored FDA approval to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients who need help breathing.

In particular, the new indication covers adult patients needing supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Olumiant first won FDA approval in 2018 for treating moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis.

Lilly began testing the drug in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in June 2020. It won emergency use authorization (EUA) for such patients that November when used with remdesivir. FDA broadened the EUA in July 2021 to allow its use with or without remdesivir.

Olumiant is the first immunomodulatory therapy to score FDA approval for a COVID-19 indication. The drug continues to be available to younger hospitalized COVID-19 patients under EUA.

Lilly reports that the drug generated more than $1 billion in sales in 2021, while Incyte received $221 million in royalty payments related to the drug. Such royalty revenue for Olumiant nearly doubled between 2020 and 2021.

Filed Under: Infectious Disease
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at [email protected].

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