Common Arthritis Drugs May Help Dangerous Viruses Spread, Norwegian Study Warns

Scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have published a study in NAR Molecular Medicine warning that JAK inhibitors — a class of anti-inflammatory drugs including baricitinib that are prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions — may inadvertently help dangerous viruses replicate and spread in the body. The research combined virology methods, gene-expression analysis, and organoid technology using tissue samples from the lungs, eyes, and brain to show that JAK inhibitors suppress an important immune signalling pathway that normally helps protect healthy cells from viral attacks. In laboratory experiments, the drugs increased the vulnerability of cells to four different viruses: Rift Valley fever virus, influenza A, adenovirus, and SARS-CoV-2. Professor Denis Kainov of NTNU stated: "They can help viruses spread more easily in the body." Erlend Ravlo, a PhD research fellow at NTNU and first author of the study, warned that the drugs can "pose a hidden risk for patients who have latent or active viral infections." The study does not call for patients to stop their medication, but urges healthcare providers to exercise particular caution when prescribing these drugs to patients who may already have an active viral infection, and recommends further investigation during outbreak periods. The researchers also noted a potential upside: the same properties that create risks for patients could, under controlled laboratory conditions, be useful for vaccine development and antiviral drug screening.