A combination of three antiviral drugs — interferon beta-1b, lopinavir-ritonavir, and ribavirin – and standard care has been found to shorten the duration of viral shedding associated with COVID-19. This relates to the dangerous period when the virus is detectable in a person’s body and potentially transmissible to others. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), China, noted the three-drug combo shows promise in treating mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 and shortens the length of hospital stays.

“Our trial demonstrates that early treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 with a triple combination of antiviral drugs may rapidly suppress the amount of virus in a patient’s body, relieve symptoms, and reduce the risk to healthcare workers by reducing the duration and quantity of viral shedding,” said Professor Kwok-Yung Yuen of the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

“The treatment combination also appeared safe and well-tolerated,” added Prof. Yuen.

The researchers recruited 127 participants who tested positive for the virus, SARS-CoV-2, from six hospitals across Hong Kong – some were assigned to a group that received the treatment combination and others to a control group. The treatment lasted for 14 days.

The results revealed that the three-drug combination was safe and overall more efficient than just lopinavir-ritonavir in relieving COVID-19 symptoms: specifically, nasopharyngeal swabs showed that the average time before the virus cleared was 7 days in the combination group, compared with 12 days in the control group. Both groups exhibited side effects of nausea and diarrhea, which resolved with no intervention.

Meanwhile, Prof. Yuen insists on larger, phase III trials to confirm the efficacy of interferon beta-1b, alone or in combination with other drugs, for use in patients with more severe illness.

Dr. Jenny Lo, from Ruttonjee Hospital in Hong Kong, echoes this sentiment. She explains that interferons are naturally-occurring proteins, produced in response to viral infection, “The hope is that interferon beta-1b will boost the body’s ability to fight SARS-CoV-2; this candidate drug may be a key component of the combination treatment and is worth further investigation for the treatment of COVID-19.”