"'COVID-19 Positive' Autoimmune Disease Patient Fully Recovered After Receiving Celltrion's 'Remsima'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] It has been reported that a patient with ulcerative colitis who contracted the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Italy tested negative just one week after receiving Celltrion's autoimmune disease treatment drug 'Remsima.'

Celltrion Healthcare announced on the 23rd that this case was published as a research paper in the international gastroenterology journal 'Gut.'

According to Celltrion Healthcare, a male patient in his 30s who was hospitalized for ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune disease, at a national hospital in Milan, Italy, contracted COVID-19 and developed pneumonia symptoms.

The patient continued breathing with the help of mechanical devices, and his ulcerative colitis condition was severe. Accordingly, the attending physician administered Remsima, which is used to treat inflammatory bowel disease, to the patient.

The patient's symptoms, including shortness of breath, significantly improved within a week. Computed tomography (CT) scans also showed a significant reduction in lung inflammation. The patient was able to breathe independently and was ultimately discharged after testing negative for COVID-19.

Dr. Gianpiero Manes, who oversaw the treatment, stated, "This is the world's first case of an adult autoimmune disease patient who not only fully recovered from COVID-19 after receiving infliximab but also showed improvement in ulcerative colitis symptoms," adding, "This could support the medical community's claim that autoimmune disease treatments may be effective for COVID-19 patients."

With the case showing that Remsima helped improve inflammation in a COVID-19 patient and aided recovery, the argument that autoimmune disease medications should be considered for COVID-19 treatment is expected to gain more attention.

Earlier, Dr. Marc Feldmann of the University of Oxford in the UK stated in April in the international journal The Lancet that research is needed to utilize 'TNF-α inhibitors,' a type of autoimmune disease treatment, for COVID-19 therapy.

Currently, in the UK, clinical trials are underway to verify the effectiveness of Remsima in treating COVID-19, led by a research team including Dr. Feldmann and Birmingham University Hospital.

A Celltrion Healthcare official said, "We expect that not only the case in Italy but also the ongoing clinical trials in the UK will help all COVID-19 patients."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.