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- Doctors in China conducted a phase 2 trial for a triple drug therapy in cases of COVID-19, demonstrating that all three drugs can speed recovery in mild to moderate cases.
- Coronavirus patients who received all three drugs were asymptomatic faster than the control group and cleared the virus in an average time of one week.
- The control group taking an HIV drug that was also being tested for COVID-19 took 12 days, on average, to test negative for the new coronavirus.
- Visit the BGR home page for more stories.
The new coronavirus had infected more than 4 million people worldwide as of Saturday morning, of whom nearly 280,000 died fighting the disease. Some 2.4 million cases remain active worldwide, but the number is likely to be much higher than that. Asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients may go unnoticed in many countries where there is insufficient testing to perform. But the world has made tremendous progress in treating the disease and it will be even easier to treat patients in the years to come, while we hope that viable vaccines will become widely available.
Remdesivir can reduce recovery time from 15 days to 11 days according to a study that included more than 1,000 people and is considered a standard therapy for COVID-19. However, there is not enough drug to circulate, so remdesivir alone will not be enough. The medication also cannot reduce mortality rates, so additional medications will be required. Anticoagulants can reduce COVID-19 complications and the risk of death, as a different study has shown. Men who receive a specific type of prostate cancer treatment may also experience a milder COVID-19 case.
These are all COVID-19 therapy developments that have been detailed in recent days. Now, we’ve learned of yet another new coronavirus treatment that works, a three-drug combo that can dramatically speed recovery in mild and moderate cases.
Published in The lancet In the journal, the study details a phase 2 randomized trial at the University of Hong Kong for three drugs, including interferon beta-1b, lopinavir-ritonavir, and ribavirin.
If the lopinavir-ritonavir combo sounds familiar, it is because it is an antiviral used for HIV patients and is generally sold under the name Kaletra. The drug has been used in other clinical trials of COVID-19. Ribavirin is also an antiviral that can be used to treat hepatitis C, among other diseases. Interferon beta-1b is an immunity booster that can be used to treat multiple sclerosis.
Doctors in Hong Kong divided a group of 127 patients with COVID-19 into two cohorts: 86 were assigned to triple drug therapy, while 41 were included in the control group that was treated with Kaletra. All of these patients developed mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. However, some patients were intubated and received ventilation therapy during treatment. All patients recovered, but one person in the control group had to discontinue therapy after liver enzymes were tested higher than expected.
The average number of days from the onset of symptoms to the start of the study was 5 days for the triple drug group and 4 days for the control. The triple drug group recovered much faster, testing negative for the new coronavirus in an average of 7 days. Patients in the control group took 12 days to clear the virus, on average. Adverse effects included nausea and diarrhea, with no difference between the two groups.
Also interesting is the fact that patients taking all three drugs began to feel better faster. They stopped showing symptoms after an average of 4 days compared to an average of 8 days for the control group.
Together, the study indicates, interferon beta-1b, lopinavir-ritonavir, and ribavirin can kill the virus and significantly speed recovery. These drugs seem to work even faster than remdesivir. It also suggests that the faster treatment is given after a positive diagnosis, the better the outcome for patients. However, this study does not explain whether the three-drug combination could also work in more severe cases.
“This study is really refreshing because it tells us that remdesivir is not the only game in town, and maybe there are other options,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong of the University of California, San Francisco. CNN. “These drugs have a safety record.”
“Maybe we can get this when we can’t get the so-called magic bullet,” he said. However, there is no magic bullet. Remdesivir is not and should not be considered a magic cure. Even Dr. Anthoni Fauci warned a few days ago that the next step is to combine remdesivir with a different medication to see if even better results can be obtained.
Image Source: CHINE NOUVELLE / SIPA / Shutterstock
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he was sharing his views on technology topics with readers around the world. Every time he doesn’t write about gadgets, he unfortunately doesn’t stay away from them, even though he tries desperately. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.
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