LONDON: Researchers at Oxford University plan to test a drug that has shown signs of reducing COVID-19 deaths in developing countries.
The Principle trial aims to find a drug that works shortly after symptoms of the virus appear in a patient and is more effective during the early stages of the disease, The Times reported.
The trial is evaluating Ivermectin, a drug used in cattle and people infected with parasitic worms, which some have considered a “wonderful drug” with the potential to save thousands of lives.
Other scientists said the drug had not been properly evaluated and the extent of its effectiveness was not yet known.
“It has potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties and there have been quite a few minor trials conducted in low- and middle-income countries that show it accelerates recovery, reduces inflammation, and reduces hospitalization,” said care professor Chris Butler primary at Oxford and co-director of the Principle trial. “But there is a gap in the data. There has been no really rigorous trial. “
The drug works by blocking the entry of a protein into the nuclei of a cell, limiting the virus’s ability to replicate, and initial analysis by the World Health Organization has shown promising signs.
“It could save thousands of lives a day,” said Paul Marik of Eastern Virginia Medical School. “The data is compelling: in Mexico, India and South America, mortality has fallen.”
Peter Horby, a professor at Oxford University who helped set up the UK’s largest COVID-19 trials, said this month that the latest data was “interesting, perhaps encouraging, but not yet convincing”.
Most advances in coronavirus treatments so far work in patients already suffering in the later stages of the disease, but Butler and his team hope to find a drug that can prevent the virus from seizing its host.
The trial is looking for people aged 65 and over or people over the age of 50 who have underlying health conditions, through GPs, online and through the UK NHS testing and monitoring system, he said. The Times.