Interferon against coronavirus
New treatment triples the risk of mortality from COVID-19
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Scientists tested the already well-known drug interferon, but changed the method of drug delivery from injections to inhalation. So it directly increases the defenses of the lungs, which are affected by SARS-CoV-2. Clinical studies have shown that therapy significantly reduces the risks of a more severe form of COVID-19 and mortality from infection.
Article by Monk et al. Safety and efficacy of inhaled nebulized interferon beta-1a (SNG001) for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
101 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 participated in the study of British scientists. Half of the participants were given interferon beta-1a by inhalation for 14 days, and the second group received a placebo. It turned out that those who received interferon had two or more times higher chances of recovery.
"This is the first evidence that inhaled interferon beta-1a reduces the clinical effects of COVID-19," the scientists said.
In the body, interferon beta regulates the immune response to viral infections, but previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 suppresses the release of interferon beta, and in patients with COVID-19, the activity of this protein is reduced. In the new work, the scientists applied the composition of interferon beta called SNG001, which was previously tested for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
During the first two weeks, the chances of recovery increased more than twice, and by the end of the experiment, a month later, they were already more than three times higher.
"The results confirm that interferon beta in the form of an inhaled drug has the potential to restore the immune response in the lungs and accelerate recovery from COVID-19," said study co–author Tom Wilkinson from University of Southampton.
Inhaled interferon provides a high local concentration of immune protein, increasing the defenses of the lungs, and not affecting any viral mechanisms.
This stage of research was aimed at assessing the safety of treatment, which turned out to be well tolerated and the main side effect was headache. Now the team intends to conduct larger studies to confirm the results obtained, after which the therapy can be introduced into clinical practice.
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