DOH looking at baricitinib as alternative to tocilizumab amid supply issue

The government is looking at baricitinib as an alternative amid the limited supply of tocilizumab, a drug used off-label in treating COVID-19 patients, a Department of Health (DOH) official said Wednesday.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said they are already talking with the distributor regarding the possibility of increasing the supply of baricitinib.

"Siguro magkakaroon tayo ng alternative, 'yung tinatawag na baricitinib. Ito 'yung isang alternative drug na inaano namin sa distributor na kung puwedeng dagdagan itong alternative drug na baricitinib," he said.

(Perhaps we can have baricitinib as an alternative to tocilizumab. We are already talking with the distributor for additional supplies.)

Like tocilizumab which is an anti-inflammatory drug, baricitinib is used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, Vega said.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday that the department is facing challenges in sourcing tocilizumab, which is manufactured in Sweden. She said the DOH has written the Philippines embassies in Switzerland and United States to seek help in obtaining tocilizumab supply.

Vega said a letter has also been sent to the Swedish ambassador to the Philippines requesting for higher allocation of the drug.

"Sabi niya siguro by the third or fourth week of September ay darating na itong supply ng tocilizumab [We are told perhaps by the third or fourth week of September we'll receive fresh supply of tocilizumab]," he said.

Vergeire, meanwhile, said Tuesday that experts from the Living Clinical Practice Guidelines group are studying possible alternatives to tocilizumab but added that these would need approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

A clinical trial published in December in The New England Journal of Medicine said for hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, treatment with remdesivir and baricitinib was more effective than remdesivir alone. —KBK, GMA News