The emerging global threat from COVID-19 demanded immediate action. With cases rising rapidly, we set up a specialist team to use our AI-drug discovery platform to search for existing drugs — already proven safe — that could be repurposed to treat the virus.
WORLD-FIRST
Together by building bespoke drug repurposing workflow customisations, we used our Knowledge Graph and AI tools to search for approved drugs that could treat COVID-19, focusing on those that might block the viral infection process. We identified baricitinib — a drug owned by Eli Lilly and approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis — as the strongest treatment candidate.
Our hypothesis sparked global clinical trials and the drug we identified is now approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19.
Our hypothesis prompted global clinical trials. Following unprecedented global scientific collaboration, baricitinib now is authorised to treat hospitalised COVID-19 patients in the US, Japan and India.
SPOTLIGHT
February 04 2020 | Our first publication identified baricitinib as a potential COVID-19 treatment and predicted that the drug could reduce both the viral entry and the inflammation in COVID-19 patients.
The lancet infectious diseaseS · 28 February 2020
Our second paper indicated that combining baricitinib with antivirals currently being used in the outbreak could reduce viral infectivity, virus replication and the body’s hyperinflammatory response, thus potentially reducing patient mortality.
EMBO Molecular medicine · 26 June 2020
Experimental data showed successful outcomes in the initial patients treated with baricitinib, validating our hypothesis. Published by Eli Lilly, the Karolinska Institute, BenevolentAI and global frontline hospitals.
Frontiers in Pharmacology · 28 July 2021
A further paper outlined the methodology behind our research: the workflow involved rapidly augmenting the knowledge graph with information from recent literature using machine learning based extraction, with human-guided iterative queries of the graph.
SPOTLIGHT
8 April 2021 | Data from Eli Lilly’s COV-BARRIER trial demonstrated baricitinib reduces mortality by 38%: the largest clinical effect reported to date for a reduction in mortality in this patient population.
ACTT-2 Trial Announced · 10 April 2020
Eli Lilly, who owns baricitinib, announced a Randomised Control Trial with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
ACTT-2 Trial Results · 14 september 2020
Peer-reviewed results from the ACTT-2 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that baricitinib in combination with remdesivir reduces recovery time, improves clinical status and demonstrates a trend towards a decrease in mortality in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
COV-Barrier Trial Announced · 15 June 2020
Eli Lilly announced an additional phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of baricitinib to treat COVID-19.
Further COV-Barrier Trial Data Released · 01 september 2021
New data showed baricitinib reduces the risk of death in hospitalised COVID-19 patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation or ECMO by 46% - the most significant clinical effect reported to date for a reduction in mortality.
SPOTLIGHT
9 November 2020 | Baricitinib, in combination with remdesivir, granted Emergency Use Authorisation to treat hospitalised COVID-19 patients by the FDA.
APPRoved in japan · 23 april 2021
Japan's health ministry approved the use of baricitinib for treating COVID-19 patients.
approved in india · 16 JUNE 2021
The Indian Ministry of Health approves baricitinib in combination with remdesivir to treat COVID-19.
approved as a solo treatment · 29 july 2021
The FDA extended the Emergency Use Approval for baricitinib to be used as a solo treatment for COVID-19 in hospitalised adults and paediatric patients who need supplemental oxygen.
