An inhaled coronavirus drug has been shown to fight the killer bug at first sign of symptoms.
Synairgen, the firm behind the drug, has published the results from its clinical trial of the drug, dubbed SNG001, in hospitalised Covid-19 patients.
Richard Marsden, CEO of Synairgen, said: “We are all delighted with the trial results announced today, which showed that SNG001 greatly reduced the number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients who progressed from ‘requiring oxygen’ to ‘requiring ventilation’.
“It also showed that patients who received SNG001 were at least twice as likely to recover to the point where their everyday activities were not compromised through having been infected by SARS-CoV-2.
“In addition, SNG001 has significantly reduced breathlessness, one of the main symptoms of severe COVID-19. This assessment of SNG001 in COVID-19 patients could signal a major breakthrough in the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
“Our efforts are now focused on working with the regulators and other key groups to progress this potential COVID-19 treatment as rapidly as possible.”
The trial involved 101 coronavirus patients from nine hospitals across the UK.
The results showed that the odds of developing severe disease were reduced by 79% for patients who received the drug, while those patients were more than twice as likely to recover.
Meanwhile, patients who received the drug reported less breathlessness.
The researchers will continue to conduct further suites over the coming weeks.
Professor Tom Wilkinson, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton and Trial Chief Investigator, said: "The results confirm our belief that interferon beta, a widely known drug that, by injection, has been approved for use in a number of other indications, has huge potential as an inhaled drug to be able to restore the lung’s immune response, enhancing protection, accelerating recovery and countering the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
