Biologics in COVID-19 So Far: Systematic Review

This systematic review aimed to reevaluate the available evidence of the use of biologics as treatment candidates for the treatment of severe and advanced COVID-19 disease; what are the rationale for their use, which are the most studied, and what kind of efficacy measures are described? A search through Cochrane, Embase, Pubmed, Medline, medrxiv.org , and Google scholar was performed on the use of biologic interventions in COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 infection, viral pneumonia, and sepsis, until 11 January 2022. Throughout the research, we identified 4821 records, of which 90 were selected for qualitative analysis. Amongst the results, we identified five popular targets of use: IL6 and IL1 inhibitors, interferons, mesenchymal stem cells treatment, and anti-spike antibodies. None of them offered conclusive evidence of their efficacy with consistency and statistical significance except for some studies with anti-spike antibodies; however, I16 and IL1 inhibitors as well as interferons show encouraging data in terms of increased survival and favorable clinical course that require further studies with better methodology standardization.

Automated summary

This systematic review reevaluated the evidence of using biologics as treatment options for severe and advanced COVID-19. The study identified IL6 and IL1 inhibitors, interferons, mesenchymal stem cells treatment, and anti-spike antibodies as popular targets. The efficacy of these treatments was inconclusive except for some studies on anti-spike antibodies. However, I16 and IL1 inhibitors as well as interferons showed promising data, indicating a need for further studies.