Hot off the press tonight12 Nov 2020 18:58
Another Covid-19 breakthrough as experts find hospitalised patients who inhale an MS drug are TWICE as likely to recover within a fortnight
By Connor Boyd Assistant Health Editor For Mailonline
18:30, 12 Nov 2020 , updated 18:30, 12 Nov 2020
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Just 13 per cent of patients given SNG001 fell ill enough to need intensive care
That was compared to 22 per cent of Covid patients who received a placebo
SNG001 uses naturally-occurring protein interferon beta which fights viruses
Scientists believe they have found an inhaler (pictured) that blocks coronavirus from progressing in the lungs +3
Scientists believe they have found an inhaler (pictured) that blocks coronavirus from progressing in the lungs
A drug that coronavirus patients inhale slashes their risk of falling seriously ill and speeds up recovery, a major study has revealed in the second Covid breakthrough this week.
Just 13 per cent of hospitalised Covid-19 patients given SNG001 fell ill enough to need intensive care, compared to 22 per cent of those who received a placebo.
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Patients treated with the drug were also twice as likely to recover after two weeks than those who didn't, according to the research by Southampton University.
SNG001 uses a naturally-occurring protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it fights viral infections.
Interferon beta is a treatment for multiple sclerosis and is normally given via an injection. But SNG001 is inhaled into the lungs using a nebuliser to trigger a stronger, more targeted anti-viral response.
Scientists believe Covid-19 shuts down the immune system's ability to produce the protein in high doses, with the new treatment giving the lungs an essential 'top-up'.
The breakthrough makes SNG001 only the second drug scientifically proven to treat the disease, the other being the £5 steroid dexamethasone.
Synairgen - the company which has developed the new drug - has not revealed how much the treatment will cost. But similar treatments for MS on the NHS cost about £160 per patient for a month's worth.
And it raises further hopes that an end to the pandemic could be in sight after the first results from Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine showed it is 90 per cent effective.
It is hoped that, with a vaccine, multiple drugs and rapid testing at the UK's disposal, Britain could soon put an end to the perpetual opening up and closing down of society through draconian lockdowns.
Kaye Flitney was one of the 98 people enrolled in the clinical trial led by Southampton University +3
Kaye Flitney was one of the 98 people enrolled in the clinical trial led by Southampton University
The latest study, published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, looked at 98 hospital patients with the virus between March and May, at the height of Britain's epidemic.
They were split in half, with one gr
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