A One-Shot COVID-19 Treatment Shows Promise

The current medicine chest for treating COVID-19 is fairly sparse. Only one drug—remdesivir—is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and three—Paxlovid, molnupiravir, and convalescent plasma—have emergency use authorization from the FDA. With new variants of the virus continuing to emerge, developing next-generation treatments is a top priority. One such therapy could be interferon lambda. In a study published Feb. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey Glenn at Stanford University report that a single injection of that drug within three days of of the first symptoms reduced hospitalizations for COVID-19 by 51%, and deaths by 50%, among vaccinated people. The benefits are even greater among unvaccinated people, with hospitalization drops of 80% or more, putting it on par with Paxlovid. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “It’s really exciting data,” says Glenn, the study’s senior author. How it works Interferon lambda is an antiviral that works on several levels during a viral infection: by killing invading viruses and warning uninfected cells to set up their defenses against infection. The compound is therefore active against a number of different viruses. It’s been studied most extensively at Eiger BioPharmaceuticals—which tested and makes the drug, and which Glenn founded and maintains an equity stake in—against the hepatitis D virus, which causes...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news