More than 200,000 people around the world have been affected by Covid-19, but there is still no cure for the disease. When can a drug be developed that will save many lives?
Currently, more than 150 drugs are being developed and tested against the coronavirus worldwide. Most of these are existing drugs, and scientists are determining whether they can affect the virus.
Currently, research is being conducted in three main directions:
Dr. Bruce Aylward of the WHO said after a visit to China that the only drug that has shown promising results is remdesivir. This antiviral drug was originally developed to treat Ebola, but it turned out to be more effective in fighting other diseases. In animal studies, it was found to be effective against other dangerous coronaviruses (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and atypical pneumonia). This gave scientists hope that it would also be effective against Covid-19. But the scientists’ hopes were not justified. Chinese trials showed that the drug did not improve the patients’ condition or reduce the presence of the pathogen in their blood. The failure of remdesivir in trials became known after the accidental publication of a World Health Organization document. The American drug company Gilead has already stated that the WHO document distorts the results of the study. A representative of Gilead said that the trials were stopped early due to a small number of participants, so the results were not statistically significant. “Thus, the research is inconclusive, although the available data suggest the potential benefits of remdesivir, especially for patients treated in the early stages of the disease,” he said. Several companies continue to test the drug.
Much has been said about two HIV drugs – lopinavir and ritonavir – potentially being effective against the coronavirus, but no evidence has been found to support this. Scientists have been successful in laboratory conditions, but human trials have not yielded positive results. The drugs did not accelerate recovery time, reduce mortality or lower viral load in patients with severe form of Covid-19. However, it should be noted that the trials were conducted in very sick patients (almost 25% of whom later died) and it is possible that it was already too late for the drugs to have a significant effect.
Malaria treatments are undergoing clinical trials conducted by the WHO and the United Kingdom. Chloroquine and its derivative hydroxychloroquine may have antiviral and immunostimulating properties that may be necessary in the fight against coronaviruses. The drug came into focus after President Donald Trump mentioned its effectiveness in treating Covid-19, but so far there is little evidence of its effectiveness. Hydroxychloroquine is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis because it is able to stabilize the immune system. Laboratory tests have shown that it can inhibit the coronavirus, and there are some unconfirmed reports from doctors that it helps patients. However, the WHO states that there is no concrete evidence of its effectiveness.
When the immune system overreacts to a virus, it can cause inflammation throughout the body. This is beneficial for strengthening the immune system to fight the infection, but its overenthusiasm can cause collateral damage to the body and even lead to death. The WHO study will examine the effects of beta interferon, which is used to treat multiple sclerosis and reduce inflammation. Interferons are a group of chemicals produced by the body in response to viral attack. The properties of dexamethasone, a substance with anti-inflammatory properties, are being studied in a UK clinical trial.
People who have recovered from the infection are expected to have antibodies in their blood that can fight the virus. The idea is to take a person’s blood plasma (which contains antibodies) and transfuse it into a patient.
In the U.S., 500 people have already undergone convalescent plasma treatment, and several other countries are trying this method.
It is too early to say when a drug that can cure Covid-19 will appear. However, the results of the clinical trials will be known in the coming months. This will happen much sooner than the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine, which protects against infection but does not cure. This is because doctors are testing the effectiveness of already developed drugs that have already passed safety tests, while a vaccine is being developed from scratch.
Scientists are also developing experimental drugs to fight the coronavirus, but they are not yet ready for clinical trials.
The most obvious reason is that treatment will save many lives, but it will also allow some quarantine measures to be relaxed. The emergence of an effective treatment will classify coronavirus infection as a milder disease. If, as a result, people no longer need artificial lung ventilation in hospitals, there will be no danger of intensive care units becoming overwhelmed, and there will be no need to take such drastic measures to save the lives of many coronavirus-infected patients. In most cases, people infected with coronavirus have mild symptoms. They can be treated at home with bed rest, acetaminophen, and plenty of fluids. However, some people require hospitalization, which includes providing oxygen to the patient, such as through artificial lung ventilation.