Benzinga | Aug 11, 2021 02:06PM EDT

WHO-Led Study To Test Three Anti-Inflammatory Drugs For COVID-19

* The World Health Organization (WHO) is set to start trials of three anti-inflammatory drugs to contain the spread of coronavirus to see if they can improve the condition of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

* "We already have many tools to prevent, test for, and treat COVID-19, including oxygen, dexamethasone, and IL-6 blockers. But we need more, for patients at all ends of the clinical spectrum, from mild to severe disease," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

* The study dubbed, Solidarity PLUS trial, will assess Ipca Laboratories Limited's Artesunate, Novartis AG's (NYSE:NVS) imatinib, and Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) infliximab as potential COVID-19 treatment.

* The drugs will be tested on more than 600 hospitalized patients in 52 countries.

* Artesunate is used to treat severe malaria, imatinib helps cure certain cancers, and infliximab is used to treat immune system disorders such as Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis.

* Price Action: JNJ shares are up 0.12% at $173.98, NVS stock is up 0.43% at $92.67 during the market session on the last check Wednesday.

* Photo by Thomas Breher from Pixabay