DUNDEE University is to lead a trial into a drug which aims to treat the worst symptoms of coronavirus and prevent health services from becoming overrun.
The trial is the first into Covid-19 to be Scottish-led and if successful, researchers believe the drug can reduce the need for ventilators. The drug, brensocatib, is being developed to treat lung inflammation, a symptom which up to 20% of patients with Covid-19 develop that can require them to be ventilated.
Covid-19 is caused by a viral infection but the body’s own inflammatory response, designed to clear the virus, causes the lung damage that leads to respiratory failure and death, in severe cases.
Researchers at the university have been studying the type of lung inflammation found in coronavirus patients for more than 10 years.
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