BenevolentAI has confirmed data released from a large scale randomized clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), further validating its AI-derived hypothesis for baricitinib as a treatment for COVID-19. The randomized control trial included more than 1,000 patients and began on May 8 to assess the efficacy and safety of baricitinib plus remdesivir versus remdesivir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Eli Lilly announced that Baricitinib in combination with remdesivir achieved the primary endpoint of the study which was a statistically significant reduction in the time to recovery for patients in comparison with remdesivir alone. Recovery was defined as the participant being well enough for hospital discharge, meaning the patient either no longer required ventilation or ongoing medical care within the hospital, or was no longer hospitalized at day 29 of the study. Positive data from the study also showed baricitinib met a key secondary endpoint comparing patient outcomes at Day 15 using an ordinal 8-point scale ranging from fully recovered to death. In addition, Lilly is conducting a Phase 3 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of baricitinib in hospitalized adults with COVID-19.

"We are encouraged by the ACTT-2 results from NIAID which validate our AI platform-derived hypothesis of baricitinib's efficacy as a treatment for COVID-19. With the number of cases of infection surging across the world, clinicians are in urgent need of additional therapies that can accelerate patient recovery and reduce mortality. We are proud to contribute our research to aid the global pandemic response," Baroness Joanna Shields, CEO of BenevolentAI, said.

"As a company, we've moved quickly to develop and evaluate medicines for patients for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. This data allows us to better understand baricitinib's role in potentially improving outcomes for hospitalised COVID-19 patients, and we look forward to continuing this research alongside our other initiatives to combat COVID-19," Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president and chief scientific officer of Eli Lilly, said.