08/11/2021 9:43 AM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 08/11/2021 9:45 AM
The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday the start of trials in hospitalized patients of three new possible treatments against covid-19.
And
Argentina will be one of the countries that will be part of the tests
.
The drugs to be tested are Artesunate (produced by the pharmaceutical company Ipca), Imatinib (from Novartis) and Infliximab (from Johnson & Johnson).
The three drugs will be part of the second phase of trials of the WHO
Solidarity program
, which in its first phase
did not achieve positive results after testing four treatments in patients
: hydroxychloroquine (initially created against malaria), the antiviral remdesivir, interferon or the antiretrovirals lopinavir and ritonavir.
The new therapies to be tested were selected by a
panel of independent experts
for their potential to reduce the risk of death in hospitalized coronavirus patients.
They are already used for other indications: Artesunate is used for severe malaria, Imatinib for certain cancers, and Infliximab for diseases of the immune system such as Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
In all three cases, the drugs were donated for the trial by their manufacturers, the WHO reported.
"Finding more effective and accessible treatments for patients with COVID-19 remains a critical need, and WHO is proud to lead this global effort," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the agency's Director General.
The Solidarity PLUS trial is a platform trial that represents the largest global collaboration among WHO Member States.
It involves thousands of researchers in more than 600 hospitals in 52 countries, 16 countries more than the first phase of trials.
Among them is Argentina.
So far, the only treatments that the WHO recognizes as effective for severe cases of COVID-19 are the use of dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, and interleukin-6 antagonists.
News in development.
LGP
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