What we know so far about drug therapy for novel coronavirus
4 years, 9 months ago

What we know so far about drug therapy for novel coronavirus

Firstpost  

Here is a list of drug treatments being experimented with right now, along with their effectiveness. The WHO, in a massive multi-country study dubbed ‘Solidarity’, will also test Kaletra - along with other drug combinations - for effectiveness. Chloroquine - the malaria drug A French study involving 25 COVID-19 patients looked at the effect of chloroquine in reducing viral load. Other available drugs A Japanese drug used to treat influenza, favipiravir, may enter the race to combat COVID-19 as well. For more tips, read our article on Coronavirus Infection: Symptoms, Types, Diagnosis and Treatment _._ Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information.

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History of this topic

Newer treatment options show promising results in HIV management
1 year, 1 month ago

Newer treatment options show promising results in HIV management

Deccan Chronicle  

India stands 3rd globally for the highest number of HIV cases with 2.4 million patients living with HIV. Experts strongly believe newer advanced INSTI-based regimens containing Dolutegravir are showing promising results in HIV treatment. Dr. Monalisa Sahu Amid this, the City’s renowned Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Monalisa Sahu said “Dolutegravir belongs to a class of drugs called Integrase strand transfer …

Merck’s COVID pill shows lower efficacy in updated study
3 years, 1 month ago

Merck’s COVID pill shows lower efficacy in updated study

Al Jazeera  

Drugmaker says final analysis of trial results showed molnupiravir led to 30 percent reduction in hospitalisations and deaths, compared with about 50 percent in interim study. Drugmaker Merck’s experimental COVID-19 pill is significantly less effective in slashing hospitalisations and deaths than previously reported, the company has said, following the release of a full analysis of trial results. The United States-based …

New coronavirus anti-viral med is “welcome, but not a miracle cure”: Virologist
3 years, 3 months ago

New coronavirus anti-viral med is “welcome, but not a miracle cure”: Virologist

NL Times  

Pharmaceutical company Merck announced last week that its antiviral medicine Molnupiravir could prevent 50 percent of coronavirus-related hospital admissions and deaths in high-risk groups if administered in time. According to virologists, this new treatment is a "welcome addition," but not a "miracle cure," they said to NOS. According to him, especially oral administration is "a welcome addition" to the treatment …

Explained | Molnupiravir, Merck’s new drug to treat COVID-19
3 years, 3 months ago

Explained | Molnupiravir, Merck’s new drug to treat COVID-19

The Hindu  

Why is there much excitement about molnupiravir, the investigational new drug for COVID-19? Pharmaceutical major Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced via a press release on October 1 the early results from Phase-3 trials that its anti-viral drug molnupiravir halved the chances of hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients with mild or moderate disease. Several noted clinicians have said that these are promising …

New drug combination found effective against coronavirus infection: Study
3 years, 3 months ago

New drug combination found effective against coronavirus infection: Study

Deccan Chronicle  

London: A new drug combination can suppress infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, according to a study conducted in animals and cell cultures. "This combination effectively suppresses the infection, said Denis Kainov, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's. "SARS-CoV-2 and its vaccine/immune-escaping variants continue to pose a serious threat to public health due to …

Covid pill works against all variants including Delta, manufacturer says
3 years, 3 months ago

Covid pill works against all variants including Delta, manufacturer says

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Drugmaker Merck & Co’s experimental …

WHO Tests 3 Drugs for Treating Coronavirus Infection
3 years, 4 months ago

WHO Tests 3 Drugs for Treating Coronavirus Infection

News 18  

The World Health Organization says it will soon test three drugs used for other diseases to see if they might help patients sickened by the coronavirus. In a statement on Wednesday, the U.N. health agency says the three drugs would be adopted into the next phase of its ongoing global research into identifying potential treatments for COVID-19. The drugs were …

Chemotherapy Drug Outperforms Remdesivir Against Coronavirus in Lab Experiments: Study
4 years ago

Chemotherapy Drug Outperforms Remdesivir Against Coronavirus in Lab Experiments: Study

News 18  

A chemotherapy medication originally developed to treat cancer could potentially be repurposed to inhibit the replication of the novel coronavirus and treat COVID-19, according to a study based on computer simulations and lab experiments. They said two of the drugs, pralatrexate and azithromycin, successfully inhibited replication of the virus, and further lab experiments showed that pralatrexate more strongly inhibited viral …

Covid-19: Molnupiravir tablet can be game-changer in stopping coronavirus transmission
4 years, 1 month ago

Covid-19: Molnupiravir tablet can be game-changer in stopping coronavirus transmission

India Today  

A new drug has become the talk of the town to fight Covid-19. If the experiment carried out in an American university holds true in larger human trials, this could be the magical cure that the world has been waiting for in its fight against Covid-19. The scientists at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences in the American state of Georgia …

WHO Solidarity Trials find Remdesivir, HCQ, HIV drug, interferon ineffective in treating COVID-19
4 years, 2 months ago

WHO Solidarity Trials find Remdesivir, HCQ, HIV drug, interferon ineffective in treating COVID-19

Firstpost  

The WHO’s Solidarity Therapeutics Trial was conducted in 11,266 adult patients in 405 hospitals across more than 30 countries. The World Health Organization’s Solidarity trial is the world’s largest ongoing randomized control trial of potential COVID-19 therapeutics. Based on data collected from the trial, the WHO has released an interim report of patients’ responses to repurposed drugs for COVID-19 treatment. …

Coronavirus | Repurposed drugs did not cut down mortality, says WHO
4 years, 2 months ago

Coronavirus | Repurposed drugs did not cut down mortality, says WHO

The Hindu  

Interim results from the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial, coordinated by the World Health Organization, have indicated that remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of COVID-19 among hospitalised patients as per information released by the World Health Organisation. Speaking exclusively to The Hindu, about the outcome Prof. K …

WHO: Study finds four drugs that have little to no effect on coronavirus, including remdesivir
4 years, 2 months ago

WHO: Study finds four drugs that have little to no effect on coronavirus, including remdesivir

India Today  

The World Health Organisation announced Friday the long-awaited results of its six-month “Solidarity Therapeutics Trial” that endeavored to see if existing drugs might have an effect on the coronavirus. What the study found The study, which was not peer-reviewed, found that four treatments tested - remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon - had “ little or no effect" on whether or …

COVID-19: Antiviral drug used to treat cats may be effective in treating humans against coronavirus
4 years, 4 months ago

COVID-19: Antiviral drug used to treat cats may be effective in treating humans against coronavirus

Hindustan Times  

A drug used to cure a deadly viral disease in cats may be effective as a treatment for humans against the novel coronavirus, according to a study that may lead to the development of new therapeutics to treat COVID-19. “This drug is very likely to work in humans, so we’re encouraged that it will be an effective antiviral treatment for …

Scientists say drug used to treat cats also works against coronavirus, to proceed for clinical trials
4 years, 4 months ago

Scientists say drug used to treat cats also works against coronavirus, to proceed for clinical trials

India TV News  

A drug used to cure a deadly viral disease in cats may be effective as a treatment for humans against the novel coronavirus, according to a study that may lead to the development of new therapeutics to treat COVID-19. According to the research, published in the journal Nature Communications, the drug is effective at inhibiting viral replication in lab-grown cells …

Scientists identify 21 existing drugs that block coronavirus in lab studies
4 years, 5 months ago

Scientists identify 21 existing drugs that block coronavirus in lab studies

Live Mint  

Scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have identified 21 existing drugs that stop the replication of the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 in lab studies, an advance that may lead to the development of new therapeutic combinations against the disease. Of the 21 drugs that were effective at blocking viral replication, the scientists found that 13 have previously entered clinical trials …

COVID-19 treatments: Which drugs, therapies are proven to work, and which ones don’t?
4 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19 treatments: Which drugs, therapies are proven to work, and which ones don’t?

Firstpost  

We have made amazing progress in the treatment of COVID-19. Ritonavir increases the level of Lopinavir in the blood so the lopinavir/ritonavir combination was tested in a randomized controlled clinical trial for COVID-19. Steroids – yes for almost all COVID-19 patients When a synthetic steroid hormone, called dexamethasone, was given to patients with COVID-19 the drug decreased 28-day mortality by …

COVID-19 RECOVERY trial: HIV medicine found ineffective in treating hospitalised COVID-19 patients
4 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19 RECOVERY trial: HIV medicine found ineffective in treating hospitalised COVID-19 patients

Firstpost  

The HIV combination treatment lopinavir-ritonavir is also being studied in a trial by the World Health Organization. A combination of antiviral drugs used to treat HIV had no beneficial effect in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in a large-scale randomised trial, British scientists said on Monday. Scientists running the RECOVERY trial at the University of Oxford said that the results “convincingly …

HIV drug combo found to have no benefit for hospitalised COVID-19 patients in UK trial
4 years, 6 months ago

HIV drug combo found to have no benefit for hospitalised COVID-19 patients in UK trial

The Hindu  

A combination of antiviral drugs commonly used to treat HIV showed no beneficial effects in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in a large-scale randomised trial, scientists in the UK have found. The findings “convincingly rule out any meaningful mortality benefit of lopinavir-ritonavir in the hospitalised COVID-19 patients we studied,” the scientists running the RECOVERY trial at the University of Oxford said …

Doctor’s Note: Can dexamethasone treat COVID-19?
4 years, 6 months ago

Doctor’s Note: Can dexamethasone treat COVID-19?

Al Jazeera  

With the coronavirus pandemic tightening its grip on the world and economies grinding to a standstill, the race is on to find a vaccine. In March, the World Health Organization announced a large global trial, called Solidarity, to find out whether any existing drugs can treat infections caused by COVID-19. What we do know about patients that suffer the worst …

COVID-19: CSIR institute to conduct clinical trials of antiviral drug Umifenovir
4 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19: CSIR institute to conduct clinical trials of antiviral drug Umifenovir

India TV News  

The CSIR -- Central Drug Research Institute Lucknow, has got the nod for carrying out clinical trial of antiviral drug Umifenovir for treating coronavirus patients, according to a statement. The Phase III clinical trials will be carried out at King George's Medical University, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences and ERA's Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Lucknow, it …

Scientists are searching hard for coronavirus treatments. Which ones look promising?
4 years, 7 months ago

Scientists are searching hard for coronavirus treatments. Which ones look promising?

ABC  

Medicinal chemist Derek Lowe has worked in the US pharmaceutical industry for 30 years. "Coronavirus is more complex than HIV because the immune system here is causing a lot of damage in people who are getting sick," Professor Lewin says. "As the days go on we're getting a better understanding of what needs to be targeted: the virus or the …

Glenmark to conduct phase-3 ‘FAITH’ trial in hospitalised patients with moderate COVID-19 infection
4 years, 7 months ago

Glenmark to conduct phase-3 ‘FAITH’ trial in hospitalised patients with moderate COVID-19 infection

The Hindu  

As the number of COVID-19 patients are rising in India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd has announced a new randomized, open-label study to test the combined efficacy of two antiviral drugs Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a potential COVID-19 treatment strategy. The two antiviral drugs have different mechanisms of action, and their combination may demonstrate improved treatment efficacy by effectively tackling high viral …

Glenmark to study potential COVID-19 drug combination; to look to enroll 158 hospitalised patients
4 years, 7 months ago

Glenmark to study potential COVID-19 drug combination; to look to enroll 158 hospitalised patients

Firstpost  

On 1 May, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said it has become the first company in India to receive approval from Drug Controller General of India to conduct clinical trials of Favipiravir antiviral tablets for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said on Tuesday it will begin a new clinical trial in India to test a combination of two anti-viral drugs …

Clinical trials are showing that Remdesivir can be life-saving drug for COVID-19 infected patients
4 years, 7 months ago

Clinical trials are showing that Remdesivir can be life-saving drug for COVID-19 infected patients

Firstpost  

Remdesivir mimics the genetic material of the coronavirus and prevents new virus copies from being produced. More than 130 drugs are under experimentation to treat COVID-19, some may have the potential to stop the virus while others may help calm overactive immune responses that damage organs, according to a tracker maintained by the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank …

Coronavirus | U.K. trial to test efficacy of five drugs
4 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus | U.K. trial to test efficacy of five drugs

The Hindu  

With a range of approved drugs now being tested on COVID-19 patients, there is no clarity on which one will turn out to be more effective in treatment compared with the standard of hospital care that all patients receive. The recovery trial, coordinated by the Nuffield Department of Population Health at University of Oxford, will randomise patients to receive either …

Clinical trials for potential Coronavirus drug — Favipiravir, in Russia, have shown some promising results
4 years, 7 months ago

Clinical trials for potential Coronavirus drug — Favipiravir, in Russia, have shown some promising results

Firstpost  

Avigan, known generically as favipiravir, was developed in the late 1990s and works by short-circuiting the reproduction mechanism of RNA viruses. A candidate drug for treating the new coronavirus, favipiravir, has produced promising results in early clinical trials in Russia, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which provided 150 million roubles in funding for the project. RDIF head Kirill …

Coronavirus | Phase-2 trial with three drugs offers hope
4 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus | Phase-2 trial with three drugs offers hope

The Hindu  

A phase-2 trial involving participants with mild to moderate coronavirus illness found no detectable virus within an average seven days of starting treatment with a three-drug regimen compared with 12 days in people in the control group. The average hospital stay was also significantly shorter in participants who received the three-drug therapy than in the control group. Analysis of secondary …

Covid-19 patients get better with triple drug combination
4 years, 8 months ago

Covid-19 patients get better with triple drug combination

CNN  

CNN — A combination of three antiviral drugs plus an immune system booster seemed to help patients recover more quickly from coronavirus infections, doctors in Hong Kong reported Friday. Dr. Kwok-Yung Yuen at Hong Kong University and colleagues tested the HIV drug combination of ritonavir and lopanivir along with the general antiviral drug ribavirin and a multiple sclerosis drug called …

Arthritis drug may improve coronavirus patients - but experts warn effects are far from proven
4 years, 8 months ago

Arthritis drug may improve coronavirus patients - but experts warn effects are far from proven

Daily Mail  

An arthritis drug may better the conditions of severely ill coronavirus patients, a new small study suggests. Researchers tested 29 Italian coronavirus patients with anakinra, an arthritis drug, and compared them to 16 control patients In the study, 72% showed improved respiratory health and reduced signs of cytokine storms, which occur when the body attacks not just the virus but …

Coronavirus drug trial shows 'quite good news': Top US doctor
4 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus drug trial shows 'quite good news': Top US doctor

India TV News  

Amid the rising number of cases of coronavirus, scientists on Wednesday announced the first effective treatment against the coronavirus — an experimental drug that can speed the recovery of COVID-19 patients. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the US government's top infectious-disease expert said that 'this drug can block the virus'. “What it has proven is that a drug can block …

‘A drug can block coronavirus’: Gilead’s remdesivir raises hopes
4 years, 8 months ago

‘A drug can block coronavirus’: Gilead’s remdesivir raises hopes

Al Jazeera  

Top US scientist Anthony Fauci says the drug reduced the time it took for some patients to recover by 31 percent. The study, run by the US National Institutes of Health, tested remdesivir versus usual care in 1,063 hospitalised coronavirus patients around the world. At the White House, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy …

Coronavirus UK: FTSE drops again as it slumps due to gloomy prospects for new drugs
4 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus UK: FTSE drops again as it slumps due to gloomy prospects for new drugs

Daily Mail  

Stock markets fell today after a promising drug that experts hoped would become a breakthrough treatment for coronavirus flopped in its first key trial. Gilead also said that trends in the data suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, 'particularly among patients treated early in disease'. Gilead is testing remdesivir in multiple trials, with results from a study involving 400 patients …

What is Plasma Therapy: A possible treatment for coronavirus?
4 years, 8 months ago

What is Plasma Therapy: A possible treatment for coronavirus?

India Today  

As Covid-19 continues to wreck havoc across the globe, scientists are racing to develop antidotes for the new coronavirus, which began infecting humans late last year. The convalescent plasma therapy aims at using antibodies from the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient to treat those critically affected by the virus. The convalescent plasma therapy uses antibodies developed within an infected …

COVID-19 patients respond to Gilead's experimental drug remdesivir, says report
4 years, 8 months ago

COVID-19 patients respond to Gilead's experimental drug remdesivir, says report

India TV News  

Patients infected with the coronavirus are responding to remdesivir, an experimental drug of Gilead Sciences, news agency Reuters quoted a report as saying. Citing medical news website STAT, a University of Chicago hospital participating in a study of the antiviral medication said it is seeing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms, with nearly all patients discharged from the hospital …

Initial study of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, shows that two-thirds of severe COVID-19 patients got better
4 years, 8 months ago

Initial study of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, shows that two-thirds of severe COVID-19 patients got better

Firstpost  

For now, Remdesivir is available for compassionate use, meaning that doctors can request the drug if a patient is in a dire situation with no alternatives. Gilead, in a press release dated 22nd March, stated that it has stopped entertaining individual appeals for compassionate use, and is transitioning to expanded access programs that will streamline the process of data collection …

Antiviral meds for coronavirus should have been developed after SARS: Dutch virologist
4 years, 9 months ago

Antiviral meds for coronavirus should have been developed after SARS: Dutch virologist

NL Times  

"We dropped the ball after the first SARS outbreak," Eric Snijder, professor of molecular virology at the Leiden University Medical Center, said to WNL Op Saterdag. If lessons had be learnt from that coronavirus outbreak, antiviral meds could have been ready to help with the Covid-19 outbreak, he said. According to Snijder, one of the scientists at LUMC currently working …

Study lists 69 existing drugs to target novel coronavirus
4 years, 9 months ago

Study lists 69 existing drugs to target novel coronavirus

The Hindu  

In a breathtaking feat, nearly a hundred scientists from across the globe worked together to study the genes of the coronavirus and have published a list of drugs that can be re-purposed to treat COVID-19. The team then listed 67 human proteins that can be targeted by 69 drugs to fight the infection. The list includes unexpected candidates such as …

Malaria drugs aren’t the only ones on the shelf that might help coronavirus patients
4 years, 9 months ago

Malaria drugs aren’t the only ones on the shelf that might help coronavirus patients

LA Times  

Researchers are testing a variety of existing drugs to see if they can work against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. President Trump has touted the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and the autoimmune disease lupus, as a potential “game changer.” And they, too, are being tested as a treatment for moderate COVID-19 cases in two …

Nearly 70 drugs that may be effective against coronavirus identified
4 years, 9 months ago

Nearly 70 drugs that may be effective against coronavirus identified

Live Mint  

An international team, including scientists of Indian origin, has identified 69 drugs and experimental compounds which may be effective in treating COVID-19. In the new study, published on the pre-print website bioRxiv, the scientists investigated 26 of the 29 coronavirus genes, which direct production of the viral proteins. 26 out of 29 SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins were studied in human cells …

Are anti-malaria drugs really a game changer for coronavirus patients?
4 years, 9 months ago

Are anti-malaria drugs really a game changer for coronavirus patients?

Firstpost  

In approving hydroxychloroquine, ICMR emphasized that it was only for health workers and caregivers treating sick family members. Previously developed drugs, among them broadspectrum anti-virals, HIV drugs, and those developed for Ebola and SARS have seen a surge of interest and clinical trials are underway to gauge their effectiveness in treating COVID-19. However, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the …

Trump focuses attention on possible coronavirus treatments
4 years, 9 months ago

Trump focuses attention on possible coronavirus treatments

Associated Press  

President Donald Trump focused attention on possible treatments for the new coronavirus on Thursday, citing potential use of a drug long used to treat malaria and some other approaches still in testing. “We’re looking at drugs that are already approved for other indications” as a potential bridge or stopgap, Hahn said, while also doing rigorous studies to see if the …

Clinical studies complete for coronavirus drug
4 years, 9 months ago

Clinical studies complete for coronavirus drug

China Daily  

Chinese researchers have completed clinical studies of favipiravir, which has shown promising clinical application in treating the novel coronavirus pneumonia, Zhang Xinmin, head of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, said on Tuesday. Comparative experiments have shown patients treated with favipiravir recovered more quickly and their lung conditions were better improved than the control group, he said. "In view …

After positive outcome in Jaipur, 3 COVID patients in Mumbai put on anti-HIV drugs
4 years, 9 months ago

After positive outcome in Jaipur, 3 COVID patients in Mumbai put on anti-HIV drugs

The Hindu  

Three out of the nine patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Mumbai’s Kasturba Hospital have been started on combination of anti-HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir. Based on the positive outcome, the Indian Council of Medical Research has published the use of this combination drugs as a treatment protocol for “restricted public health emergency use”. “The combination treatment …

Several antiviral drugs to treat the coronavirus outbreak under clinical trials, shown good efficacy: Chinese official
4 years, 10 months ago

Several antiviral drugs to treat the coronavirus outbreak under clinical trials, shown good efficacy: Chinese official

Firstpost  

Several antiviral drugs to treat the novel coronavirus outbreak in China that has claimed over 1,500 lives are under clinical trials and some have shown fairly good efficacy, a Chinese official said on Saturday. Clinical trials on the drug will also be launched in central China’s Hunan Province soon, Zhang was quoted as saying in the state-run Xinhua news agency. …

Prepared for the coronavirus
4 years, 11 months ago

Prepared for the coronavirus

The Hindu  

Declared by the World Health Organization as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 37,000 people and killed more than 800. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry provided the team of medical personnel to accompany the students home, and arranged for their health check-ups and quarantine at special camps organised by the Armed …

Coronavirus treatments may available in few months, says Regeneron Pharma
4 years, 11 months ago

Coronavirus treatments may available in few months, says Regeneron Pharma

Live Mint  

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc is ramping up efforts to develop a set of coronavirus treatments, which could be available for testing or use in some patients within a few months, the drugmaker said on Thursday. Regeneron said the treatments could be made available through a "compassionate use" program that provides patients access to experimental drugs outside of a clinical trial when …

Coronavirus outbreak: Cocktail of flu, HIV drugs appears to help fight virus, say Thai doctors
4 years, 11 months ago

Coronavirus outbreak: Cocktail of flu, HIV drugs appears to help fight virus, say Thai doctors

India Today  

Thai doctors have seen success in treating severe cases of the new coronavirus with combination of medications for flu and HIV, with initial results showing vast improvement 48 hours after applying the treatment, they said on Sunday. The doctors from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok said a new approach in coronavirus treatment had improved the condition of several patients under their …

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