Against virus and inflammation

Trials of COVID-19 combination therapy have begun

Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+

The authors hope that the combination of antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs will help effectively treat coronavirus. According to their idea, the first one will stop the reproduction of the infection, and the second one will not allow a "cytokine storm" to develop – an immune reaction dangerous for the body.

Specialists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have begun testing a new COVID-19 treatment regimen. We are talking about a combination of a broad-profile antiviral drug remdesivir and an anti-inflammatory compound baricitinib.

As noted by Science Daily, a few months ago, the team was one of the first to begin research on the effectiveness of intravenous injections of remdesivir to combat the new coronavirus. According to a recently published article, patients who received this drug recovered four days earlier than those who received a placebo.

Now the researchers will test whether it is possible to further improve the results by combining remdesivir with baricitinib, a drug that is commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. They hope that such a combination will not only slow down the reproduction of the virus, but also stop the development of a "cytokine storm" – an overreaction of the immune system to infection.

All participants in the new trials will undergo a ten-day course of intravenous injections of remdesivir. In addition, half of them will have to take baricitinib for two weeks, and half will take a placebo.

If the combination of the two drugs proves successful, it could become the new standard for the treatment of COVID-19.

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