‘Game changer’ protein treatment 'cuts severe Covid-19 symptoms by nearly 80%'

A “groundbreaking” new coronavirus treatment dramatically reduces the number of patients suffering severe symptoms, according to preliminary trial results.

The treatment, developed by Southampton-based biotech Synairgen, uses a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it contracts a viral infection.

Covid-19 patients inhale the protein into the lungs using a nebuliser, with the aim of stimulating an immune response.

Initial findings, published on Monday, suggest the treatment cuts the chances of a hospitalised coronavirus patient developing severe symptoms of the disease by 79 per cent.

Patients were at least twice as likely to recover to the point where everyday activities were not compromised by their illness, according to Synairgen.

It said the trial also indicated the treatment “significantly reduced” breathlessness – one of the main symptoms of severe Covid-19.

There were also no deaths among patients treated with the new drug.

Professor Tom Wilkinson, the trial’s chief investigator said: "We are delighted with the positive data produced from this trial, which is the result of a momentous coordinated effort.

“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.”

Full data from the trial has not yet been released, nor has the study been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

However, if the results are confirmed in larger studies the new treatment will be "a game-changer", Prof Wilkinson told the BBC.

The trial was relatively small but the signal that the treatment benefits patients was unusually strong, he explained.

The trial involved 101 volunteers, all Covid-19 patients, who had been admitted for treatment at nine UK hospitals, between March 30 and May 27.

Half of the participants were given the drug, the others received a placebo.

Patient groups evenly matched in terms of average age – 56.5 years for placebo and 57.8 years for those receiving the protein treatment.

"We couldn't have expected much better results than these," Synairgen chief executive Richard Marsden told the same news site.

He described the results as "a major breakthrough in the treatment of hospitalised Covid-19 patients".

Mr Marsden said the company will be presenting its findings to international medical regulators over the coming days.

They will then seek approval for the treatment, which could take months unless they are granted emergency approval, as was the case with anti-viral drug Remdesivir.

If it does get the green light, the treatment and nebulisers used to administer it will need to be manufactured in large quantities.

Mr Marsden said he had instructed companies to start producing supplies back in April to ensure they were ready for a mass roll-out.

He told the BBC he expects Synairgen to be able to deliver "a few 100,000" doses a month by the winter.

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