Cholesterol pill could cut COVID infections by up to 70%, study finds
pharmafile | August 6, 2021 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development |
A licensed drug normally used to treat abnormal levels of fatty substances in the blood could reduce COVID infections by up to 70%, a study has found.
The drug is fenofibrate, which is approved for use by most countries in the world including the FDA and NICE is an oral drug currently used to treat conditions such as high levels of cholesterol and lipids (fatty substances) in the blood.
The research team, led by the University of Birmingham and Keele University in the UK and the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy are now calling for clinical trials to test the drug in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
Corresponding author Dr Farhat Khanim, of the University of Birmingham, said: “The development of new more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants has resulted in a rapid expansion in infection rates and deaths in several countries around the world, especially the UK, US, and Europe.
“Whilst vaccine programmes will hopefully reduce infection rates and virus spread in the longer term, there is still an urgent need to expand our arsenal of drugs to treat SARS-CoV-2-positive patients.”
Co-author Dr Elisa Vicenzi, of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Italy, said: “Our data indicates that fenofibrate may have the potential to reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and also virus spread.
“Given that fenofibrate is an oral drug which is very cheap and available worldwide, together with its extensive history of clinical use and its good safety profile, our data has global implications – especially in low-middle income countries and in those individuals for whom vaccines are not recommended or suitable such as children, those with hyper-immune disorders and those using immune-suppressants.”
First author Dr Scott Davies, concluded: “We now urgently need further clinical studies to establish whether fenofibrate is a potential therapeutic agent to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
Lilly Subbotin
