Federal COVID-19 study to test a promising drug cocktail

Remdesivir vial. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Beta interferon, an anti-inflammatory drug that has already been approved for treatment of multiple sclerosis, is being paired with remdesivir in the latest phase of a federal coronavirus trial, The New York Times reports.

The remdesivir-focused study has found it can quicken the recovery time of COVID-19 patients, but researchers are seeking to boost its effects by combining it with other treatments. Beta interferon is the second drug to get the call — the results of the study's second phase which involved an anti-inflammatory arthritis drug are still being evaluated — and scientists are hopeful, per the Times.

For starters, it's already on the market, albeit for a different purpose. Either way, it's shown promise against the new coronavirus, killing it (along the SARS and MERS coronaviruses) in lab studies. Additionally, tests in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong showed the drug performed better among COVID-19 patients than the placebo it was up against. Both those studies were too small to come away with anything definitive, but the U.S. trial should be large enough to get a better sense of its ability. Read more at The New York Times.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.