The US began recruiting 1,000 hospitalized patients from the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) for a clinical trial that combines the anti-viral drug remdesivir with a type interferon used to treat multiple sclerosis, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a press release on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2020) The US began recruiting 1,000 hospitalized patients from the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) for a clinical trial that combines the anti-viral drug remdesivir with a type interferon used to treat multiple sclerosis, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in a press release on Thursday.
"Participants must have laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] infection with evidence of lung involvement, including a need for supplemental oxygen, abnormal chest X-rays, or illness requiring mechanical ventilation. People with confirmed infection who have mild symptoms or no apparent symptoms will not be included in the study," the release said.
The study marks the third in a series that included an earlier trial of remdesivir alone, which demonstrated that the anti-viral drug shortened the recovery period of hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared with patients that received a placebo, the release said.
The new trial, named Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial 3 (ACTT 3), is anticipated to enroll more than 1,000 hospitalized adults at as many as 100 sites in the United States and abroad. Participants will be randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to receive either subcutaneous interferon "beta-1a plus" plus remdesivir (combination therapy) or remdesivir alone, the release explained.
Beta-1a is a form of interferon that mimics a naturally occurring protein called "interferon beta" that is typically produced in the body to help the immune system fight viruses. Evidence suggests that COVID-19 suppresses interferon, the release said.
Interferon beta-1a is approved in the US and more than 90 other countries for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, the release added.
