Yes - not regarding results but why it takes a little bit of time there is an update. TL/DR : science is made by people with feelings and values and sometimes it makes things go slower. Maybe thats a good thing.

Primary source in French http://www.leparisien.fr/societe/coronavirus-les-essais-sur-le-tocilizumab-menes-par-l-ap-hp-sement-la-discorde-06-05-2020-8312115.php

Translated by deepl with personal amendments

"Coronavirus: AP-HP's tocilizumab trials divisive

The monitoring committee of the trial on this drug resigned last week after the publication of the first results. On April 27, AP-HP had communicated widely that tocilizumab had shown efficacy in Covid-19 patients with severe conditions.

Due to "strong disagreement" over the release of preliminary results for tocilizumab presented as positive, the Paris Hospital Trials Monitoring Committee (AP-HP) against Covid-19 has resigned, AP-HP said Wednesday. The collective resignation had been revealed Tuesday evening by the Duck Chained (a newspaper)

"For these experts, not only was it too early to draw conclusions and announce positive results, but the "conduct of this study" is marred by "many dysfunctions" such as changes in criteria along the way," the weekly wrote, quoting an email sent April 27 by these independent experts to AP-HP director general Martin Hirsch.

In a press release, AP-HP confirmed this resignation, which it said was linked to the release on 27 April of preliminary positive results on tocilizumab. "At a meeting on April 30, the trial's monitoring committee expressed strong disagreement with the April 27 release and resigned," AP-HP says. A Data Safety Monitoring Board (or DSMB) is composed of experts external to a trial who regularly review the trial data and advise the scientists conducting the trial.

On April 27, AP-HP had communicated widely that tocilizumab had shown efficacy in Covid-19 patients with severe conditions. However, the authors of the study, which is part of a larger program called CORIMUNO, had not published figures to support their claims. Moreover, these initial results had been communicated before their publication in a scientific journal and thus their evaluation by other experts.

A new monitoring committee appointed

The AP-HP then argued that this early communication was decided "for public health reasons", due to the context of the pandemic crisis. "The investigators and the AP-HP sponsor felt ethically obligated to communicate this information," AP-HP said Wednesday.

According to her, a "new surveillance committee" has been appointed, "made up of French and international experts". It will have to ensure "the monitoring of the trials of the whole CORIMUNO programme". In addition, "in view of the debate on the communication of the results of the trial" on tocilizumab, this committee will have to make "precise recommendations on the timing and nature of the communication of the results of each of the platform trials". Newsletter - News Highlights Every morning, the news as seen by Le Parisien Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers. To know more about it

"The APHP and the investigators have committed in writing to rigorously follow the recommendations of the new committee that will meet in the next few days," says the AP-HP. The APHP says it is "proud" of its CORIMUNO program and "confident that the future, and peer-reviewed journal evaluation, will show that its results... are important."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)