A common asthma drug can dramatically reduce hospital admissions, symptoms and recovery time in COVID-19 patients if taken up to a week after symptoms appear, according to researchers at the University of Oxford.
Inhaling the steroid budesonide reduced the need for emergency care or hospitalization by 90 percent, compared to using the usual treatment for virus patients, Reuters news agency reported Tuesday, citing the Oxford experts.
Initial results, achieved after a 28-day study with 146 patients, showed that volunteers recovered faster from fever and had less persistent symptoms on treatment with the steroid.
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Budesonide is sold as Pulmicort by AstraZeneca, which has also produced a vaccine against the coronavirus together with Oxford University.
“I find it encouraging that a relatively safe, widely available, and well-studied drug … could have an impact on the pressures we are experiencing during the pandemic,” said researcher Mona Bafadhel.
Researchers were drawn to take a closer look at the drug after noting how few patients with chronic respiratory disease had been hospitalized with COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. People with respiratory disorders are often prescribed inhaled steroids as treatment.
The results of Oxford University’s research have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Screen shot of video of a person using a Pulmicort inhaler. (YouTube)
On Thursday, AstraZeneca released figures showing that last year’s net profit more than doubled to $ 3.2 billion due to strong sales of new cancer drugs.
The update did not include any current or expected earnings from AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, which is being rolled out worldwide.
However, the company said that “COVID-19’s greatest direct impact on the company’s portfolio” included decreased sales of respiratory drug Pulmicort in China and less global use of infused and injectable drugs such as Imfinzi and Fasenra.