Left field treatments for COVID-19
With no vaccine and no treatment, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers are willing to try anything to see if it works to combat COVID-19.
Illness
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An antiviral drug used to treat hepatitis C and a blood cleaning machine have emerged as a potential treatments for COVID-19.
The hepatitis C drug danoprevir has been trialled in combination with another antiviral ritonavir on patients at the Ninth Hospital of Nanchang.
Researchers reported 11 patients with mild versions of COVID-19 who given the treatment cleared the virus after 4 to 12-days treatment.
Two of the patients received only this treatment. A further nine patients first tried and failed on other treatments before using danoprevir and ritonavir, all were discharged from the hospital.
The study has not been peer reviewed and the researchers included the chief executive officer and employees of Ascletis Pharmaceuticals which makes Danoprevir and Ritoavir.
Ritonavir is available in Australia but Danoprevir is not on our drug subsidy scheme.
Meanwhile companies that make machines that clean people’s blood of infection and poisons have suggested the process could be trialled on COVID-19.
Hemoperfusion is similar to dialysis which cleans the blood of those who have kidney failure.
In hemoperfusion, blood is extracted from the body and passed through a cartridge containing either charcoal or a resin that absorbs any toxins.
Regular haemodialysis machines can be used for hemoperfusion.
The rate of complications in hemoperfusion is greater than haemodialysis, and the cost is significantly higher and can include platelet deficiency and blood clotting, low blood sugar calcium and phosphate levels.
The company Ex Thera said its blood cleaning device Seraph 100 is the only one approved for the reduction of pathogens in blood.
Recent trials in the EU showed it improved lung function and a rapid reduction of drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.
The company said the treatment could potentially reduce blood borne virus/RNA in COVID-19 patients and at the same time treat bacterial and fungal secondary infections but as yet it has not been trialled on COVID-19.
The Government has approved 13 new faster tests for COVID 19 many of which work by using a tiny sample of blood instead of a throat swab.
Originally published as Left field treatments for COVID-19