Steroid ‘biggest virus breakthrough yet’
THE world’s first coronavirus treatment which significantly reduces the risk of death is being given to NHS patients following trials by British scientists.
In a breakthrough described as a “remarkable achievement” by the Prime Minister, the common steroid dexamethasone was shown to radically improve the chances of survival for the sickest patients.
Boris Johnson called the result the “biggest breakthrough yet” in the treatment of coronavirus. “We are seeing the first chink of light,” he said. “There is a genuine cause to celebrate a remarkable British scientific achievement. We have turned the tide on the virus.” The Government has been stockpiling dexamethasone since March in case trials were successful and there are already supplies for 200,000 patients and enough to cope with a second wave. The drug, which is commonly used to treat arthritis, severe allergies and asthma, costs just £5 for a full course of treatment.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, confirmed that NHS patients on ventilators or oxygen would receive the drug immediately and said he hoped it
would save thousands of lives. “This astounding breakthrough is testament to the incredible work being done by our scientists,” Mr Hancock said.
Scientists at Oxford University who have been conducting trials on a number of drugs since March announced yesterday that a 10-day course of the medication lowered the risk of death by a third for people on ventilators.
Currently 40 per cent of patients with the most severe form of Covid-19 die. It means that for every eight patients placed on ventilators, three people will lose their lives. But with the steroid, just two will now die. The drug, which can be taken orally or as an injection, also cuts the death rate of people needing oxygen by one fifth.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the Chief Scientific Adviser, said: “This is a groundbreaking development … and the speed at which researchers have progressed finding an effective treatment is truly remarkable.”
Scientists said up to 5,000 lives could have been saved in Britain if they had known how effective the drug was at the beginning of the epidemic.
Martin Landray, deputy chief investigator of the trial, from the University of Oxford, added: “The results are sufficiently clear and people can be treated this evening. That’s a major major step forward. This is not an expensive drug, this is not a drug where there are supply chain issues or manufacturing issues, this is a drug that is globally available, so that is enormously important.”
The results are part of the Recovery trial, which was set up in March. More than 11,500 patients have been enrolled from more than 175 NHS hospitals, including 2,100 on the dexamethasone trial. The researchers said the drug should become the standard of care in the most sick patients.