A late-stage study of two rheumatoid arthritis drugs has demonstrated a near 41% drop in the risk of death among patients hospitalised with COVID-19, US health authorities say.

Results from the large clinical trial suggest that infliximab and abatacept could be given in addition to standard-of-care treatments, such as remdesivir and dexamethasone, in this setting.

However, the biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) failed to meet the primary goal of speeding up recovery compared with the placebo group.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), data from nearly 2000 patients point to a 40.5% and 37.4% reduction in mortality risk among those given infliximab (Remicade, Johnson & Johnson) and abatacept (Orencia, Bristol Myers Squibb).