Hospitals trial drug to battle virus

A NEW drug is being trialled at two hospitals in Manchester as part of a nationwide effort to find new treatments for Covid-19.

Manchester Royal Infirmary and Wythenshawe Hospital are taking part in a national research programme exploring different drugs for people hospitalised by coronavirus.

Bemcentinib, a tablet used to treat blood disorders, is one of the drugs being tested on Covid patients at the MRI and Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).

The study falls under the ACCORD-2 (accelerating Covid-19 research and development), one of several research studies trials taking place at MFT as part of Covid-19 urgent public health research. As an adaptive study, drugs and therapies can be added or removed as researchers progress.

Bemcentinib, a drug developed by the Norwegian company BerGenBio, has been shown to have a potent antiviral effect in other experiments, according to scientists.

It is one of five drugs being tested at 30 hospitals in the UK as part of a national research effort involving doctors and scientists, the National

Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation.

Scientists hope their wider findings could reduce the severity of the disease, shorten the length of someone’s illness and prevent patients from being admitted to intensive care units (ICU).

As with all most trials, researchers rely on patients and their families signing up to become part of their crucial work.

Greater Manchester’s hospitals are already playing crucial roles in Covid-19 research. Twelve urgent public health trials are under way in our region.