Trial of new Covid treatment yields encouraging results

According to a study, a single antiviral injection dose for newly-infected Covid-19 patients reduced the risk of hospitalization.

Stanford University professor Jeffrey Glenn, coauthor of the study said the new drug "showed profound benefits for vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike."

The new treatment involves a single dose of pegylated lambda-interferon, that helps the infected cells secrete to defend against viral infection.

"If a virus has infected the cell it will turn on processes that aim to destroy the virus's replication," he said. "It will also send signals to neighboring cells to warn them viruses are on their way and get ready to defend yourself."

"We're turning on these antiviral mechanisms in the cells, the lung, where the infection is happening," Glenn said.

A total of 931 newly-infected Covid patients were given a single injection of interferon lambda while 1,018 participants were given a placebo.

The risk of Covid-19–related hospitalization or death from any cause was 47% lower in the interferon group than in the placebo group, according to the researchers.

There was an 89% reduction in hospitalization among unvaccinated patients treated within the first three days of the onset of Covid symptoms compared with the placebo group.