Interferon beta protein reduces Covid-19 patients in hospitals by 79 per cent

Southhampton-based biotech Synairgen uses a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it gets a viral infection, primary results of a clinical trial suggest a new treatment for Covid-19 dramatically reduces the number of patients needing intensive e care and also indicated “very significant” reductions in breathlessness among patients who received the treatment.  The average time patients spent in hospital is said to have been reduced by a third, for those receiving the new drug-down from an average of nine days to six days. The protein is inhaled directly into the lungs of patients with coronavirus using a nebuliser, in the hope that it will stimulate an immune response.

The initial findings suggest the treatment cut the odds of a Covid-19 patient in hospital developing severe disease such as requiring ventilation by 79 per cent. Patients were two to three times more likely to recover to the point where everyday activities were not compromised by their illness, Synairgen claims.

The double-blind trial involved 101 volunteers who had been admitted for treatment at nine UK hospitals for Covid-19 infections. Half of the participants were given the drug, the other half got what is known as a placebo- an inactive substance.

Synairgen’s CEO Richard Marsden says, “ a major breakthrough in the treatment of hospitalised Covid-19 patients and a very important step forward in the treatment of coronavirus infections. The company will be presenting its findings to medical regulators around the world in the next couple of days to see what further information they require in order to approve the treatment and have already instructed companies to start producing supplies back in April to ensure they would be available should the results be positive and able to deliver 100, 000 doses a month by winter.”

The anti-viral drug Remdesivir was given an emergency approval in May 2020.

Interferon beta is part of the body’s first-line defence against viruses, warning it to expect a viral attack.

The Coronavirus seems to suppress its production as part of its strategy to evade our immune systems. The new drug is a special formulation of interferon beta delivered directly to the airways via a nebuliser which makes the protein into an aerosol, as the direct dose of protein into the lungs will trigger a stronger anti-viral response, even in patients whose immune systems are already weak. Interferon beta is commonly used in the treatment of multiple scierosis. No-one involved in the trial knew which patients have been given which until it was over.