Coronavirus: WHO testing three new drugs to treat Covid-19
- A trial in 52 countries will study anti-inflammatory medications artesunate, imatinib and infliximab for their potential in reducing risk of death in patients
- Thousands of researchers at more than 600 hospitals worldwide are involved in the Solidarity Plus trial
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday a clinical trial in 52 countries would study three anti-inflammatory drugs as potential treatments for Covid-19 patients.
“These therapies – artesunate, imatinib and infliximab – were selected by an independent expert panel for their potential in reducing the risk of death in hospitalised Covid-19 patients,” it said in a statement on the Solidarity Plus trial.
The trial involves thousands of researchers at more than 600 hospitals, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news briefing from Geneva.
Finland is one of the first countries to enrol patients in the Solidarity Plus trial, he added.
“There are many variants, and all variants can appear anywhere on the planet. And so having so many sites in so many different countries and regions will help us get to these answers as fast as possible,” said Marie Pierre Preziosi, co-lead of the research and development blueprint at the WHO.
Artesunate is already used for severe malaria, imatinib for certain cancers, and infliximab for diseases of the immune system such as Crohn’s Disease and rheumatoid arthritis.