Aerosol-based treatment could dramatically reduce the number of new coronavirus patients dying from the disease or requiring intensive care, according to preliminary results published Monday by a British biotech firm.
In a randomized trial of 100 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, those who received an inhaled formula of the protein interferon beta had a 79 percent lower risk of developing serious disease compared to those who received a placebo.
They were also more than twice as likely to fully recover compared to the control group.
The firm behind the treatment, known as SNG001, said preliminary results suggest “a breakthrough” in the pandemic.
“We are all delighted with the results of the trials announced today, which showed that SNG001 greatly reduced the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who progressed from requiring oxygen to requiring ventilation,” said Richard Marsden, CEO of Synairgen.
The results released Monday have not yet been peer-reviewed and the sample size is relatively small.
But if it is confirmed that treatment could revolutionize the way COVID-19 is treated in hospitals.
Game changer
Interferon beta is a natural protein, commonly used to treat multiple sclerosis.
It is part of the body’s natural fight against infection, and the new coronavirus suppresses its production in an attempt to evade an immune response.
Delivering the protein directly to patients’ lungs is designed to trigger a robust immune response to the virus, even in patients whose immune system is already weakened by infection.
“The results confirm our belief that interferon beta … has tremendous potential as an inhaled medication to restore the lung’s immune response,” said Tom Wilkinson, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Southampton.
He said the trial showed that SNG001 was effective in “improving protection, speeding recovery, and counteracting the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said the new treatment “could change the rules of the game.”
“With small (test) numbers comes less certainty about the true level of benefit, or whether benefits vary between people with different risk characteristics,” said Sattar, who was not involved in the research.
“Such work would require a larger test, but even so, these results are very exciting.”
There are currently a number of treatments available for hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Last month, a team of researchers based in Britain, led by the University of Oxford, announced that they had successfully reduced the risk of death among critically ill patients by administering the commonly available steroid dexamethasone.
Several countries have also issued emergency authorization for treatment with remdesivir antiviral.
© Agence France-Presse
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