Researchers at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv say that they have developed a drug that appears to cure serious coronavirus cases, Kan News reported. The drug, EXO-CD24, was administered to 30 moderately to severely ill coronavirus patients and 29 of them showed a marked improvement within two days and were released from the hospital three to five days later. The 30th patient also recovered but her recovery took several more days. The drug fights the cytokine storm – a life-threatening immune response during which the body starts to attack its own cells – which scientists believe is fueling many coronavirus deaths. Cytokines are part of the body’s normal immune response to infection but their sudden release in large quantities can cause multisystem organ failure and death. The inexpensive drug was developed by Professor Nadir Arber of the hospital’s Integrated Cancer Prevention Center. “The medicine is administered through inhalation, once a day, in a procedure that takes only a few minutes, for five days,” Arber said. The researchers have successfully completed phase 1 trials and are now seeking approval from the Health Ministry to proceed with more advanced clinical trials. Researchers at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem also recently reported on a possible cure for severe coronavirus cases, which have already shown excellent results in Phase 2 trials. The drug Allocetra, developed by the Israeli company Enlivex Therapeutics, also targets the cytokine storm caused by the coronavirus. It was administered to 16 virus patients at Hadassah – 9 in serious condition and 7 in critical condition. After 28 days of treatment, all of the patients are still alive and 14 were released from the hospital an average of 5.3 days after receiving the medication. Two patients remain on supplementary oxygen in intensive care. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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