Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche Canada) announced that it has signed agreements with the Government of Canada to supply 15,000 treatment courses of ACTEMRA IV (tocilizumab for injection) for adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
“Actemra has become a standard of care for moderate to severe COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization, and this agreement allows for a stable supply of essential medications for the management of COVID-19,” said Dr. Zain Chagla, Infectious Diseases Physician and Associate Professor at McMaster University.
It is estimated that for every 1000 adults in hospital with COVID-19, 429 would be eligible for tocilizumab; treating them all may prevent 17 deaths and 12 instances of invasive mechanical ventilation. As demonstrated in the RECOVERY trial, the median time to hospital discharge was 19 days in the tocilizumab + usual care arm and >28 days in the usual care arm.
Health Canada authorized ACTEMRA on October 13, 2022 for the treatment of hospitalized adult patients with COVID-19 who are receiving systemic corticosteroids, and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The recommended dose of ACTEMRA for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 is a single intravenous infusion of 8 mg/kg administered over 60 minutes. Doses exceeding 800 mg per infusion are not recommended in patients with COVID-19.
Based on the agreement to procure supply of ACTEMRA, the Government of Canada works with provincial and territorial partners to allocate the supply equitably across jurisdictions. Provinces and territories will continue to determine how best to manage the supply within their jurisdictions.