Cheap use-at-home ‘wonder drug’ that could prevent Covid deaths moves to trial
A cheap drug credited with dramatically reducing Covid-19 deaths has been moved to trial stage in the UK.
Researchers at Oxford University are carrying out a Principle trial programme aimed at finding a treatment that can counteract the disease at an early stage and could be used at home soon after symptoms appear.
The next batch of medicines it will assess includes ivermectin, which has been hailed as a Covid “wonder drug”, The Times reported.
Ivermectin has traditionally been used on livestock and to treat people with parasitic infestations, but has been credited with reducing Covid deaths in the developing world.
However, scientists have warned that its efficacy is yet to be properly proven.
“It has potential antiviral properties and anti-inflammatory properties and there have been quite a few smaller trials conducted in low and middle-income countries, showing that it speeds recovery, reduces inflammation and reduces hospitalisation,” Chris Butler, professor of primary care at the University of Oxford and a co-chief of the Principle trial, told the newspaper.
“But there’s a gap in the data. There’s not been a really rigorous trial.”
The drug has been shown to block the entry of viral protein into the nuclei of cells, which could prevent the virus from replicated.
Results from initial, small-scale trials have been described as “promising”, though scientists and health officials have warned that further tests are needed.
The drug is currently only authorised in the UK to treat skin infection and inflammation.
If successful, the drug would be a major breakthrough in efforts to find a medicine that tackles the disease at an early stage, rather than treating patients who are already seriously ill.