Malaria drug ‘useless on COVID-19’

THE World Health Organization said on Saturday that it was discontinuing its trials of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and combination HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 after they failed to reduce mortality.

The setback came as the WHO also reported more than 200,000 new cases globally of the disease for the first time in a single day. The United States accounted for 53,213 of the total 212,326 new cases recorded on Friday, the WHO said.

“These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Solidarity trial investigators will interrupt the trials with immediate effect,” the WHO said, referring to large multi-country trials that the agency is leading.

The UN agency said the decision, taken on the recommendation of the trial’s international steering committee, does not affect other studies where those drugs are used for non-hospitalized patients or as a prophylaxis.

Another branch of the WHO-led trial is looking at the potential effect of Gilead’s anti-viral drug remdesivir on COVID-19. The European Commission on Friday gave remdesivir conditional approval after it was shown to shorten hospital recovery times.

The solidarity trial started out with five branches looking at possible treatment approaches to COVID-19: standard care; remdesivir; hydroxychloroquine; lopinavir/ritonavir; and lopanivir/ritonavir combined with interferon.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that nearly 5,500 patients in 39 countries had been recruited for its clinical trials and interim results were expected within two weeks.

Some 18 experimental vaccines are being tested on humans, but Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergencies expert, said on Friday that it would be unwise to predict when a vaccine could be ready.

(Reuters)