RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Oxford University announced Tuesday that it is testing antiparasitic drug Ivermectin as a potential treatment for Covid-19, as part of a British government-backed study that seeks to aid the recovery of patients in non-hospital settings.
Ivermectin resulted in reduced viral replication in laboratory studies, the university said, adding that a small pilot study showed that administering the drug early could reduce viral load and symptom duration in some patients with mild Covid-19 conditions.
Named “Principle,” the British study showed in January that antibiotics Azithromycin and Doxycycline are generally ineffective in early stages of Covid-19.
Although the World Health Organization and European and U.S. regulators have taken a stand against the use of Ivermectin in Covid-19 patients, the drug is being prescribed to treat the disease in some countries, including India and Brazil, where the drug is advocated by president Jair Bolsonaro as part of so-called early treatment.
“By including Ivermectin in a large-scale study like Principle, we hope to generate robust evidence to determine how effective the treatment is against Covid-19, and whether there are benefits or harms associated with its use,” said Chris Butler, one of the research leaders.
People with severe liver conditions, or who take the anticoagulant drug Warfarin, or other drugs known to interact with Ivermectin, will be excluded from the study, the university added.
Ivermectin is the 7th drug to be tested in the trial, and is currently being evaluated alongside the antiviral drug Favipiravir, the university said.