A COMMON heartburn drug could be used to treat coronavirus, doctors have revealed. US researchers are testing whether famotidine, the active compound in the over-the-counter heartburn drug Pepcid,…
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The researchers are hoping that famotidine acts as an inhibitor of Covid-19, similar to the way certain drugs block the replication of HIV/AIDS.Patients in the study are being given the heartburn drug directly into their veins along with hydroxychloroquine at Northwell’s North Shore University Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Lenox Hill Hospital.
Those taking the combination will be compared with a group taking only the anti-malarial and a control group. We have teamed up with NHS Charities Together in their urgent Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the money gets to exactly who needs it. However, these hopes appear to be dashed after the agency prematurely posted research which found the drug - originally developed to treat Ebola - was ineffective, and even potentially harmful.The documents showed that the Chinese study involved 237 patients, of whom 158 were given remdesivir and 79 a placebo.
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