Will interferon have the potential to treat mild COVID-19?

Activates the immune system in the human body to increase resistance and treat viruses

Effective in early and mild patients

Efforts have been made to continue to identify the potential for interferon preparations as a treatment for COVID-19.

 

Interferon is one of the antiviral immune substances and increases the activity of innate immune cells (T cells, B cells, macrophages, etc.) to strengthen the human immune system.

 

As the existing antiviral drugs such as Kaletra and Hydroxychloroquine have been discontinued due to lack of efficacy and side effects, rather than targeting the highly mutated virus itself, they are focusing on developing a therapeutic agent that activates the immune system in the body to increase resistance.

 

Recently, studies have shown that interferon is exacerbated in severe COVID-19 patients in Korea, but it is still evaluated that interferon can be 'good' in mild or early patients.

 

Clinical results support this.

 

Dr.

 

Eleanor Fish, PhD team at the University of Toronto, Canada, conducted on 77 patients hospitalized with early symptoms of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China in May, when interferon alpha and beta (α2b) were administered alone or in combination with Arbidol.

 

It was found that the virus removal time in the body was as fast as 7 days.

 

In addition, decreased levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), which are inflammatory markers, were confirmed.

 

Similar results were obtained in the following clinical trials.

 

In clinical trials conducted in patients with infectious pneumonia caused by COVID-19 in Hubei and Guangdong, China (patients without artificial respiration), pneumonia symptoms improved when interferon α2b and Arbidol were administered in combination.

 

Based on this, clinical trials of COVID-19 using interferon preparations at home and abroad are ongoing.

 

Earlier, the British biotechnology company Synairgen said it would enter COVID-19 clinical trials based on interferon beta, which has been demonstrated to protect cells from a wide range of respiratory viral infections such as MERS and SARS in vitro.

 

In addition, several clinical trials have been conducted, including clinical trials for the recovery and mortality of COVID-19infected patients following combination therapy of Ribavirin and interferon beta 1b.

 

In Korea, Selma began clinical trials of COVID-19 through anti-viral agents that enhance interferon.

 

It is conducting clinical trials with the Russian pharmaceutical company 'Pharmsynthez' as an interferon formulation 'Neovir', and the results of the study will be released soon.

 

"The antiviral effect of interferon is achieved by targeting the activation of the immune system of pre- or mid- and early-stage infected individuals, so it is expected that COVID-19 may have a greater therapeutic effect in the early or middle period of infection than in severe patients.

 

COVID-19."