Drug trial could cut ventilator use

Dundee University is to lead a trial into a drug that aims to treat the worst symptoms of coronavirus and prevent health services from becoming overrun.

The trial is the first into Covid-19 to be Scottishled and, if successful, researchers believe the drug can reduce the need for ventilators. The drug, brensocatib (formerly known as INS1007), is being developed to treat lung inflammation in Covid-19 patients. Up to 20 per cent of patients with Covid-19 develop inflammation of the lungs, which can require them to be ventilated.

Covid-19 is caused by a viral infection, but the body’s own inflammatory response, designed to clear the virus, causes the lung damage that leads to respiratory failure and death in severe cases.

Previous trials have shown the drug reduces inflammation in the lungs of people with underlying lung conditions.

The Dundee researchers will explore whether brensocatib can reduce the incidence of acute lung injury and prevent the need for mechanical ventilation.

It is hoped the treatment will also lead to patients spending fewer days dependent on oxygen and shorter periods of time in hospital, reducing the burden on healthcare systems.

Funding and drug supply for the trial is being provided by biopharmaceutical company Insmed Incorporated.

Patients who have contracted the virus will be sought for the trial, due to start next month, with researchers hoping to recruit 300 volunteers from ten hospitals. The project is led by James Chalmers, a professor of respiratory research at the university. He said researchers at the university have been studying the type of lung inflammation found in coronavirus patients for more than ten years.