London: The United Kingdom government Wednesday authorised the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) to use steroid ‘dexamethasone’. It is the ‘world’s first’ coronavirus treatment proven to reduce the risk of death among severely ill patients.
The Department of Health said ‘dexamethasone ‘ is a cheap and widely available anti-inflammatory steroid. It has been immediately approved to treat all hospitalised COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen. Patients on ventilators will also be treated with dexamethasone. This decision was taken after an Oxford University trial confirmed positive results Tuesday.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the government-funded trial as the ‘biggest breakthrough’. It said dexamethasone has ‘greatly reduced’ patients’ chances of dying from COVID-19.
“I am proud of these British scientists, backed by UK government funding. They have led the first, robust clinical trial anywhere in the world to find a coronavirus treatment. It has reduced the risk of death,” Johnson said.
According to scientists, the drug has been proven to reduce the risk of death significantly in COVID-19 patients on ventilation by 35 per cent and patients on oxygen by 20 per cent.
“The standard treatment for COVID-19 will include dexamethasone, helping save thousands of lives while we deal with this terrible virus,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. “This astounding breakthrough is testament to the incredible work being done by our scientists behind the scenes,” he added.
The drug has also been added to the UK government’s parallel export list. It bans companies from buying medicines meant for UK patients and selling them on for a higher price in another country. This will protect supply for UK patients by enforcing regulatory action on those who flout the restrictions, the Department of Health said.
The trial formed part of the 2.1-million pounds Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 therapy (RECOVERY) trial, backed by the UK government to explore innovative medicines in the fight against the novel coronavirus.
With over 177,000 patients enrolled, it is described as the largest randomised clinical trial anywhere in the world and will continue to trial other medicines, such as ‘azithromycin’ and ‘lopinavir-ritonavir’.
“The RECOVERY trial is an outstanding example of the UK leading the world with an impressive study capable of delivering robust answers to critical questions. Although these data have not yet been peer-reviewed,” said UK Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam.
“The positive findings on dexamethasone follow the disappointing findings on hydroxychloroquine. Together these two results illustrate the power of properly conducted clinical trials and the inherent danger of assuming things work without robust data,” Van-Tam said.
The UK government believes the trial will impact the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. “The vital information collected by UK researchers will also be used by other countries to reduce mortality rates worldwide,” the Department of Health said.