Étude du mécanisme d'action de l'ozanimod dans le contexte de la COVID-19

As of November 23, 57 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 1.3 million who have died. In severe cases, there is prolonged lung inflammation that leads to the development of respiratory distress and often death. At the moment, there is no effective medication to treat patients with severe COVID-19. My project is part of the COZI clinical study, where ozanimod, a drug recently approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, is being tested to counter severe cases of COVID-19. Indeed, in addition to its beneficial effects in the context of multiple sclerosis, this drug is also recognized as being able to reduce respiratory distress caused by an influenza virus infection. We believe that ozanimod will reduce, in the context of COVID-19, the number and level of activation of white blood cells while reducing inflammatory molecules in the lungs and body. We will therefore compare the white blood cell populations of patients who receive ozanimod versus those who do not receive it and we will analyze the modulation of different inflammatory molecules that are normally increased in the disease. We will also measure the impact of ozanimod on the levels of antibodies against the COVID-19 virus, which are necessary for medium/long-term immunization, in order to ensure that the drug does not harm this process. The data from this project will allow us to better understand the evolution of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients and potentially improve the treatments offered to them.