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The University of Southampton in the UK has published the results of a clinical study on an inhaled form of interferon beta-1a, SNG001, which reduced the chances of hospitalized Covid-19 patients developing serious illness or death from of infection.
The naturally occurring protein, interferon beta, coordinates the body’s immune response to viral infections.
Laboratory studies have shown that the SARS CoV-2 virus directly suppresses the release of interferon beta.
A decrease in protein activity in patients with Covid-19 was also observed during clinical trials.
The study enrolled 101 hospitalized Covid-19 patients who were randomly given Synairgen’s SNG001 or placebo.
The results showed that patients who received SNG001 were twice as likely to show improvement in their clinical condition on day 15 or 16 compared to the placebo arm.
In the placebo group, 11 out of 50 patients developed severe disease requiring mechanical ventilation or died between the first dose and day 15 or 16.
All patients in the SNG001 group survived while three deaths were recorded in the placebo group.
During the treatment arm, six of the 48 patients who received SNG001 developed severe disease.
University of Southampton respiratory medicine professor and lead author Tom Wilkinson said, “The results confirm our belief that interferon beta, a widely known drug approved for use in its injectable form for other indications, may have the potential as an inhaled drug to restore the immune response and accelerate recovery from Covid-19.
“This formulation of inhaled interferon beta-1a at neutral pH (SNG001) provides high local concentrations of the immune protein that increases lung defenses rather than targeting specific viral mechanisms.”
The inhaled form can also potentially aid in the treatment of Covid-19 when it occurs alongside infection with another respiratory virus such as the flu or respiratory syncytial virus in winter.
The positive results of the study, which were originally announced in July, have now been peer-reviewed.
PR
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2020/11/interferon-trial-published.page
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https://www.synairgen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/200720-Synairgen-announces-positive-results-from-trial-of-SNG001-in-hospitalised-COVID-19-patients.pdf
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