A new finding made himself known in the middle of the battle to banish the covid and to help those who have been infected with the virus. A team from the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv analyzes a drug based on a molecule called CD24 -which is found naturally in the body- and that reversed 93% of severe cases by coronavirus. The drug is in Phase II and it is key for the treatment of patients with pictures complicated by the disease.
Nadir Arber, who leads the team at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, noted: “We are very happy to have found a tool to address the physiology of the illness”. And he clarified that it is a great alternative of treatment since it manages to reverse the most difficult cases in just five days and at low cost.
As explained by the specialist, the treatment is called EXO-CD24 and it is based on the CD24 molecule, a protein that is found in the membrane of cells and that, among other things, regulates the cytokine storm, that is, an over-activation of the immune system, which attacks it, thus managing to regain balance in the body. In this regard, the researcher said: “As of today, we have not registered any secondary effect significant in no patient. It is important to remember that 19 out of 20 COVID-19 patients do not need any therapy ”.
The researcher explained that the main complication in patients with covid is when the system attacks the healthy cells of the lungs. On that he added: “This is exactly the problem that our medicines are targeting. We are balancing the responsible part of cytokine storms using the endogenous mechanism of the body, that is, the tools offered by the body itself. We are using exosomes, very small vesicles derived from the membrane of cells that are responsible for the exchange of information between them ”.
Meanwhile, Arber and his team of researchers will face the Phase III of the study in Israel to be able to launch the drug on the world market by the end of the year. However, he clarified: “As promising as the findings of the first phases of a treatment, nobody can be sure of anything until the results are compared with those of the patients who receive a placebo ”.
The WHO International Study
After the first trial Solidarity will end, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a new international study to find an effective treatment against coronavirus. On this occasion, there will be three drugs that will be tested in patients hospitalized by COVID-19.
Called SolidarityPlus O Solidarity 2, this new international study will evaluate three new drugs and their action in people hospitalized for covid. This time they will be: imatinib, which originally applies to cancer patients; the infliximab, used in autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis; and the artesunato, an antipalúdico.
Despite the announcement, this new study has no release date yet. However, there is one fact that remains clear: these drugs will focus on the immune response and not the virus, since they will be aimed at patients with serious or critical pictures.
The Imatinib is a drug that is already used in the treatment of some classes of leukemias and types of Cancer and that blocks the action of a protein that orders cancer cells to multiply, thereby stops the replication and spread of the disease.
The second is the Infliximab, an antibody used to treat autoimmune disorders, where the immune system attacks healthy parts of the body and causes pain, swelling and damage, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, among others. As it was known, it was observed that this medicine could work as a protection against covid.
The last one is the artesunato, a derivative of artemisinin that is used in the treatment of severe and complicated malaria, as it eliminates malaria parasites. In this case, its inclusion is because it would have shown positive signals for reduce inflammation and counteract the immune response that causes damage to the lungs of patients with severe or critical illness due to coronavirus.
