The first clinical trial of a potential COVID-19 treatment involving a discovery by Hudson Institute researchers received approval in September.
An end-stage prostate cancer drug will be tested as a treatment in COVID-19 patients in Europe, following a discovery by Dr Michael Gantier and his team that the drug has potent anti-inflammatory activity.
The trial will involve approximately 40 patients in hospitals in Ukraine and Moldova, two countries experiencing high rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalisation.
Dr Gantier and his team discovered in laboratory tests that the active ingredient in the anti-cancer drug Veyonda, idronoxil, could block the production of several pro-inflammatory proteins, known as cytokines.
These proteins are involved in the ‘cytokine storm’ or hyper-inflammation that leads to life threatening acute respiratory distress and death from COVID-19. By stopping this reaction, the severity of the infection and any potential long-term impacts of COVID-19 could be reduced.
READ MORE | Hyper-acute inflammation in COVID-19
READ MORE | Sepsis nearly took Michael Gantier’s life
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