Coronavirus: Hong Kong researchers find three-drug combination suppresses virus nearly twice as fast as drug held up as major hope against pandemic
- Covid-19 patients on the antivirals are free of their mild-to-moderate symptoms in half the time as those only medicated with HIV drug Kaletra, researchers say
- Expert not involved in the University of Hong Kong study says it represents ‘a step towards finding a much-needed therapy’
A combination of three drugs suppressed the coronavirus within seven days when used on patients in Hong Kong, nearly twice as fast as a single medicine did, in a result seen as a leading hope in the fight against the pandemic, a study has found.
It discovered that using the antiviral drugs interferon beta-1b, lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin together was “safe and more effective” in reducing the duration of viral shedding – when the coronavirus is detectable and potentially transmissible – for patients with mild to moderate symptoms, while accelerating their recovery.
The antivirals were said to be more effective when compared with only using lopinavir-ritonavir, the HIV drug also known by its brand name, Kaletra.
Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, a top infectious diseases expert who led the study, said: “Our trial demonstrates that early treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 with a triple combination of antiviral drugs may rapidly suppress the amount of virus in a patient’s body, relieve symptoms, and reduce the risk to health care workers by reducing the duration and quantity of viral shedding.
“The treatment combination appeared safe and well tolerated by patients.”
The interferon drug was developed to treat multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease. Ribavirin was commonly used to treat hepatitis C.
But the researchers said a larger trial would be needed to confirm whether the triple regimen would be effective on patients with more severe symptoms.
