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Studies in a random sample of 100 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 coronavirus infection showed a 79% risk of developing severe disease in people treated with the aerosol protein interferon beta. less than in the placebo group alone.
Furthermore, patients treated with interferon were twice as likely to make a full recovery as controls.
The company that offered the therapy, called SNG001, said the preliminary results could indicate a “breakthrough” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everyone is satisfied with the results of a test published today that shows that SNG001 significantly reduced the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who initially required oxygen and later [dirbtinis plaučių] ventilation, “said Richard Marsden, CEO of Synairgen.
Still, the results published on Monday had not yet been reviewed by the reviewers, and the patient group studied was relatively small.
If the test results are confirmed, this could lead to an advance in the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Radical change
Interferon beta is a natural protein in the body that regulates the immune system. Among other things, it is used to treat multiple sclerosis.
This protein is part of the body’s natural system to fight infection. The new coronavirus inhibits the production of interferon, so the body’s response to this infection is often inadequate.
Direct exposure to interferon in the lungs is intended to elicit a strong immune response to the virus in patients, including those whose immune system is already weakened by infection.
“These results confirm our belief that interferon beta … has great potential as an inhaled medication that can restore the pulmonary immune response,” said Tom Wilkinson, professor of respiratory diseases at the University of Southampton.
According to him, the study shows that SNG001 was an effective means of “improving protection, accelerating healing, and counteracting the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said the new therapy could radically change the situation.
“With the little ones [tiriamųjų] the groups are less clear about the true level of benefit, as well as whether the positive effects are different for people with different risk characteristics, “said Sattar, who did not contribute to the study.
“Such work would require more research, but in any case, these results are very exciting,” he added.
Various therapies are currently offered to patients with COVID-19 treated in hospitals.
A team of researchers led by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom last month said it had successfully reduced the risk of death in seriously ill patients with the widely available steroid dexamethasone.
Several countries have also urgently authorized the antiviral treatment of COVID-19 with remdesivir.
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