A common asthma remedy can dramatically reduce hospitalizations, symptoms, and recovery time among COVID-19 patients if taken up to a week after the onset of symptoms, Oxford University researchers said.
Inhalation of the steroid budesonide reduced the need for urgent care or hospitalization by 90 percent compared to using the usual treatment for virus patients, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Oxford experts.
Initial results, obtained after a 28-day study among 146 patients, showed that volunteers recovered more quickly from fever and had less persistent symptoms when treated with the steroid.
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Budesonide is sold as Pulmicort by AstraZeneca, which together with Oxford University has also developed a vaccine against the coronavirus.
“I am delighted that a relatively safe, widely available and well-studied medicine … can have an impact on the pressure we are experiencing during the pandemic,” said researcher Mona Bafadhel.
Researchers tended to take a closer look at the drug after noting how few patients with chronic respiratory disease were among those hospitalized with COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. People suffering from respiratory disorders are often prescribed inhaled steroids as treatment.
The results of Oxford University research have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Screenshot of video of a person using a Pulmicort inhaler. (Youtube)
AstraZeneca on Thursday released figures showing that net profit more than doubled last year to $ 3.2 billion on strong sales of new cancer drugs.
The update does not include any current or expected earnings from AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, which is being launched worldwide.
However, the company said ‘the biggest direct effects of COVID-19 on the company’s portfolio’ include reduced sales of Pulmicort respiratory drugs in China and less worldwide use of administered and injectable drugs such as Imfinzi and Fasenra.