A British biotech company claims to have had promising results in treating corona patients with an inhalation medication. In hospital patients who inhaled the beta-interferon protein, the risk of having to be ventilated mechanically or dying from Covid-19 was significantly reduced, the company Synairgen said on Monday.
According to the preliminary results of a study with around 100 hospital patients, the risk of Covid-19 disease becoming severe was 79 percent less when inhaled with the SNG001 drug than among patients receiving a placebo. Their prospect of recovering completely was therefore twice as high as that of the control group.
The significance of the study is limited because it has not yet been independently assessed by experts and the number of patients is small. However, if the result is confirmed, the drug could revolutionize the treatment of Covid-19 in the hospital.
The messenger substance beta-interferon, which is found in the body, is part of the body’s defense against infections and is often used to treat multiple sclerosis. The novel corona virus suppresses its production in the body. Inhalation takes the protein directly to the patient’s lungs – and is said to trigger a robust immune response to the virus, even in patients who are already weakened by the infection.
“The results confirm our belief that beta-interferon as an inhalation drug has tremendous potential to restore the lung’s immune response,” said lung specialist Tom Wilkinson of the University of Southampton. University of Glasgow expert Naveed Sattar spoke of a potentially groundbreaking development. However, he pointed out that a significantly larger study was necessary for a more precise assessment.
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