Covid-19 drug breakthrough ‘could save thousands of lives’

THOUSANDS OF lives could be saved worldwide by the findings from a medical trial which have hailed a common steroid as a “breakthrough” for the treatment of coronavirus.

The drug, dexamethasone, is readily available in hospitals and has been found to reduce deaths by up to a third among patients on ventilators.

Furthermore, scientists say, it is incredibly affordable worldwide as a common treatment for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

It is now set to immediately become “standard of care” in Covid-19 patients on ventilators or oxygen.

England’s chief medical officer

Professor Chris Whitty said it was “the most important trial result for Covid-19 so far”, and “will save lives around the world”.

Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, and one of the chief investigators for the trial, said it was a “major breakthrough”.

“This is the only drug that has so far shown to reduce mortality, and it reduces it significantly.

“Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used

Peter Horby, of the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. immediately to save lives worldwide.”

Researchers found the drug reduced deaths by up to a third among patients on ventilators, and by a fifth for those on oxygen.

Scientists estimate that if they had known what they now know about dexamethasone at the start of the pandemic, 4,000 to 5,000 lives could have been saved in the UK.

They added that, based on their results, one death would be prevented by treatment of around eight patients on ventilators, or around 25 patients requiring oxygen alone.

The drug could offer hope for hundreds on oxygen support and the 336 on ventilators in England.

The Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance described the findings as “tremendous news”.

“It is particularly exciting as this is an inexpensive, widely available medicine,” he said.

“This is a groundbreaking development in our fight against the disease, and the speed at which researchers have progressed finding an effective treatment is truly remarkable.”

The Recovery trial was co-ordinated by scientists from the University

of Oxford, with more than 11,500 patients from 175 NHS hospitals having been enrolled since March.

In the study, patients were given the steroid for 10 days, with the findings compared to those within a control group.

The overall mortality rate of those who end up on a ventilator is above 40 per cent, but this figure was reduced by a third among those prescribed dexamethasone.

However, the study did not see any benefit in those patients who were in hospital with Covid-19, but whose lungs were working sufficiently well.

Prof Landray said: “What we can see is the biggest benefits in those people at the biggest risks, which I guess if you wanted to design a drug is exactly how you’d hope to have the results.”

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director, said the findings were a major breakthrough for the treatment of coronavirus worldwide.

“It is thanks to NHS staff and patients who participated in the trial that from now, we are able to use this drug to dramatically improve Covid-19 survival for people in hospital who require oxygen or ventilation,” he said.

This is the only drug that has so far shown to reduce mortality.