Anakinra as a potential treatment for COVID-19

Abstract

On November 8, 2022, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for the interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitor anakinra for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The authorization was specifically intended for patients requiring supplemental oxygen who are at risk of progression to respiratory failure and are likely to have an elevated plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor. Anakinra is a modified, recombinant human IL-1 receptor antagonist used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease and other inflammatory diseases. This manuscript examines what is known about the role of IL-1 receptor antagonism in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 and examines how anakinra may be used in the future to address the SARS-CoV-2 infection pandemic.

Keywords: Anakinra; COVID-19; Immunomodulators; Interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonists; SARS-CoV-2 infection.