• Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) said that its oral rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz (tofacitinib) reduced death or respiratory failure in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pneumonia in Brazil, meeting the study’s primary goal.

• Results of the study, which tested the drug in 289 hospitalized adult patients with respiratory illness due to the infection, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

• Incidence of death or respiratory failure was 18.1% for patients treated with the drug compared to 29% for placebo.

• Death from any cause through day 28 occurred in 2.8% of patients in the tofacitinib group and 5.5% in the placebo group.

• Serious adverse events occurred in 20 patients treated with the drug compared to 17 patients on placebo.

• The incidence of severe infection was 3.5% in the tofacitinib group and 4.2% in the placebo group.

• Xeljanz belongs to a class of drugs called JAK inhibitors and is approved in four indications.

• Price Action: PFE shares are down 0.05% at $39.28 during the premarket trading session on the last check Thursday.

See more from Benzinga

• Click here for options trades from Benzinga

• Cocrystal Pharma's Preclinical Protease Inhibitor Effective Against Original, Two Variant COVID-19 Strains

• Moderna Says No Link Between COVID-19 Jab And Heart Inflammation

© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.