Daily Times

The Punjab government has approved the use of Actemra to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients following a sudden increase in the death rate reported by public hospitals in the province.

The 400 mg injectable drug, an interleukin-6 inhibitor which has the generic name of tocilizumab, will be prescribed to patients who develop lung complications and abnormal levels of IL-6 in the blood. IL-6 is an endogenous chemical that causes inflammation.

According to the reports “the price of each dose of the drug (injection) is Rs60,000 and it will be given twice to patients under treatment at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in a life-threatening condition.”

The health department has allowed all teaching hospitals in Lahore to purchase 20 doses of the medicine.

Vice chancellors of medical universities, principals of medical colleges, members of the government’s Corona Expert Advisory Group (CEAG), leading pulmonologists and professors of medicine attended the meeting.

Dr Asad Aslam Khan, the chief executive of Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, presented a study regarding the use of the drug on critical patients in ICUs.

He told the meeting that his hospital had reported an 80-90 per cent recovery rate after doctors prescribed this drug to critical patients of Covid-19 brought there with damaged lungs and severe pneumonia.

The heads of other medical institutions endorsed the use of Actemra, saying their hospitals had used it to treat coronavirus patients.