LONDON: Researchers at the University of Oxford are planning to test a drug that shows signs of reducing COVID-19 deaths in developing countries.
The Principle study aims to find a drug that works soon after virus symptoms appear in a patient, and one that is most effective during the primary stages of the disease, The Times reported.
The study assesses Ivermectin, a drug used in livestock and humans infected by parasitic worms, hailed by some as a “panacea” with the potential to save thousands of lives, the report said.
Other scientists said the drug had not been properly evaluated and the full extent of its efficacy was not yet known.
“It has potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties and there have been quite a few smaller studies in low- and middle-income countries showing that it speeds up recovery, reduces inflammation and reduces hospitalization,” said Chris Butler, professor of primary care. in Oxford and co-chief of the Principle process. ‘But there is a gap in the data. There hasn’t really been a severe trial. “
The drug works by blocking the entry of a protein into cell nuclei, limiting the virus’s replication capacity, and the World Health Organization’s initial analysis has shown promising signs.
“It can save thousands of lives a day,” said Paul Marik of Eastern Virginia Medical School. “The data is compelling: the death rate has fallen in Mexico, India and South America.”
Peter Horby, the Oxford University professor who helped set up the largest COVID-19 studies in the UK, said this month that the latest data was “interesting, perhaps encouraging, but not convincing yet”.
Most of the breakthroughs in coronavirus treatments to date 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 settling in its host.
The trial is looking for people 65 and older, or those over 50 with underlying health conditions, through primary care physicians, online and through the UK’s NHS Test and Trace system, The Times said.