Covid-19 - Drug Treatments

At this time, there is no specific drug available that will successfully "cure" a Covid-19 infection. Nor is there a vaccine available. However, there are some promising treatments underway, and they are intended for the most serious of infections. In an effort to  address some of the  feelings of frustration, here are some positive developments. The intent here is to show that tens of thousands of people are working on the issue and that help is on the way. 

Actemra   - Developed  by Swiss  manufacturer Roche, it was  first approved by the U.S. FDA in 2010 for rheumatoid arthritis. Elevated IL-6 level (IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine) is an indicator of disease worsening and Actemra acts as an inhibitor of the receptor of interleukin 6 (IL-6). In the disease COVID-19, the body may respond to the pathogen by overproducing immune cells and their signaling molecules in a dangerous phenomenon called cytokine storm. Similar lung inflammation happened in SARS patients during the 2003 outbreak.

It is being used off label to treat serious ill patients with lung damage. Some Covid-19 patients will develop an uncontrolled immune response, leading to potentially life-threatening damage to lung tissue. Chinese researchers report some positive results using the drug.  Roche donated CNY 14 million (US$2 million) of drug  to China, China will initiate a clinical trial of 188 patients, with half on Actemra.

Kaletra (Aluvia) - USA based manufacturer drug is a combination of antivirals lopinavir and ritonavir. It is being used by Chinese researchers to treat symptoms. It has had mixed success.

Kevzara - French manufacturer Sanofi  are investigating another US FDA approved IL-6 receptor blocker currently used for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Remdesivir - Israeli Gilead Sciences’ investigational remdesivir has demonstrated potential in the treatment of Covid 19. There are  5 international clinical trials underway;

Other Products

AbCellera - Canadian R&D company is trying to identify antibodies in patients who recovered from the illness. They would use the antibodies to fight the infection. In development.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals - US R&D company  is looking to repurpose its galidesivir, which works by interfering with viral replication. It's shown positive activity against some viruses,

GlaxoSmithKline - UK manufacturer teamed with China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals to test a protein-based vaccine candidate along with GSK's pandemic adjuvant system.

Moderna - USA manufacturer shipped its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate to the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for a phase 1 trial that could start by April. 

Sirnaeomics - is investigating its  gene-silencing technique to turn off key genes in the Covid-19 cvirus

Takeda - Japan based manufacturer is pushing forward with its plasma-derived therapy 

Toyama Chemical of Japan has favipiravir in development. It targets RNA viruses like Covid-19, and has demonstrated signs of efficacy in a 70-patient test. 

There are many more products under review and vaccines in development. This is not a definitive list, and only serves to give an indication of what is being done.