Results of COVID19 drug treatment trial published
The results of the University-led clinical trial of an inhaled form of interferon beta-1a (SNG001) as a treatment for COVID-19 have been published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.
Interferon beta is a naturally occurring protein that coordinates the body’s immune response to viral infections. Laboratory studies have found that the SARS CoV-2 virus directly suppresses the release of interferon beta, while clinical trials demonstrate decreased activity of this important protein in COVID-19 patients.
The trial randomised 101 hospitalised COVID-19 patients to either SNG001, Synairgen’s inhaled formulation of interferon beta-1a, or placebo. Positive topline results from the trial were originally announced on 20 July 2020 and these results have now been peer reviewed.
Patients who received SNG001 were twice as likely to show an improvement in their clinical condition at day 15 or 16, compared with the placebo group.
In the placebo group, 11 (22%) of 50 patients developed severe disease (defined in this study as requiring mechanical ventilation) or died between the first dose and day 15 or 16, compared with six (13%) of 48 patients who received SNG001 (this includes three deaths in the placebo group and none in the treatment group).
Professor Tom Wilkinson, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton and Lead Author, said: “The results confirm our belief that interferon beta, a widely known drug approved for use in its injectable form for other indications, may have the potential as an inhaled drug to restore the lung’s immune response and accelerate recovery from COVID-19. This pH neutral, inhaled interferon beta-1a formulation (SNG001) provides high, local concentrations of the immune protein which boosts lung defences rather than targeting specific viral mechanisms. This might carry additional advantages of treating COVID-19 when it occurs alongside infection by another respiratory virus such as influenza or Respiratory Syncytial Virus that may well be encountered in the winter months.”
The full title of the publication is: "Safety and efficacy of inhaled nebulised interferon beta-1a (SNG001) for treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial”, and can be accessed here.