A medicine developed by North American pharmacists can be a solution capable of halving the chances of hospitalization by Covid-19. Called “pegylated interferon lambda”, the substance underwent phase 3 clinical trials in Brazil and Canada between 2021 and 2022, and the results were positive.
Developed to combat viruses that cause hepatitis B, C and D, the drug promises to be a simpler, more accessible and efficient way to prevent patients from being hospitalized with serious cases of coronavirus infection. The study surrounding its effectiveness was published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine on February 9th.
To analyze the effects of Interferon once morest Covid-19, the team of specialists coordinated by Gilmar Reis, professor of medicine at PUC Minas and associate at McMaster University, in Canada, used almost 2,000 volunteers diagnosed with the disease who had mild or moderated and were served by the public network.
931 patients were given the drug dosage, while 1,018 were given a placebo. Of the total, 84% were vaccinated. The studies concluded that the Interferon lambda reduced hospitalizations by 51%and proved to be effective once morest different variants of SARS-CoV-2 during clinical trials.
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The scientists found that the drug was most effective in patients who received it three days following the onset of symptoms. In these cases, the reduction in the chances of hospitalization reached 65%; the risk of death decreased by 81%. Among patients who were not vaccinated, the risk of death dropped by 89%.
Interferon lambda is administered by a single injection given in the navel region, therefore, the costs of multiple doses in a single patient are waived, making this a cheaper and simpler drug to implement.
Action of the drug
Interferons are a group of proteins synthesized by the human body with an antiviral nature that have proven to be great allies in the fight once morest Covid-19 and other diseases. When the organism is affected by a virus, bacteria or tumor, these molecules are responsible for increasing the capacity of the cells to destroy these agents.
A class known as “alpha interferons”, for example, is capable of preventing viral replication by “warning” cells to become stronger. Patients with a high viral load at the onset of symptoms who took Interferon lambda had a significant reduction in the proliferation of the coronavirus following the seventh day of treatment.
In the case of the drug, the action of the assets occurs in epithelial tissues in regions close to the airways, therefore, it is ideal for combating the virus that causes Covid-19.
“It is a drug administered in a single dose as effective as 30 Paxlovid pills for five days in unvaccinated and vaccinated patients, regardless of the viral variant”, explained Professor Gilmar Reis in an interview with g1, comparing Interferon lambda with the drug developed by Pfizer.
FDA has not yet approved its use.
Despite the insistence of Eiger, the pharmaceutical company that created the drug, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States health surveillance agency, has not yet authorized the emergency use of the drug due to pending clinical trials.
The regulatory body requires pharmaceutical companies to conduct phase 3 trials in at least one US city. The experiments were carried out only in Brazil and Canada. In addition, the agency does not allow studies to be promoted around drugs by entities other than the company responsible for their development — in this case, Eiger.
In Brazil, it is still necessary for Interferon lambda to have a national representative — either a laboratory or a pharmaceutical company — so that its emergency use can be requested from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).
