A low-cost antidepressant has been shown to significantly reduce the rates of serious illness caused by Covid-19, in a study by an Irish scientist, funded by entrepreneur Patrick Collison.
Treating patients early with the antidepressant – fluvoxamine – can cut hospital admissions by up to 30 per cent, researchers in Canada, led by Dubliner Prof Ed Mills, found.
Prof Mills says the drug could be a “game-changer” for poorer countries with low vaccination rates and lacking access to more advanced Covid-19 treatments.
Fluvoxamine, a generic medicine often used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder, costs just $4 in the US, he points out. In contrast, a course of monoclonal antibodies to treat Covid-19 costs $2,100 and must be administered by a doctor.
Prof Mills and his team at McMaster University in Ontario treated 738 Brazilian Covid-19 patients with fluvoxamine, while another 733 received a placebo, this year.
Health outcomes
They tracked patients for 28 days to determine their health outcomes and if they still needed hospital treatment.
Researchers found about a 30 per cent reduction in events among those receiving fluvoxamine compared to those who did not.
The trial of fluvoxamine formed part of a larger Together trial that started in May 2020, aiming to test potential Covid-19 treatments in the community.
This trial tested eight drugs, including hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, but only fluvoxamine had a positive effect on Covid-19.
“Fluvoxamine is the only treatment that, if administered early, can prevent Covid-19 from becoming a life-threatening illness,” said Prof Mills. “It could be one of our most powerful weapons against the virus and its effectiveness is one of the most important discoveries we have made since the pandemic began.
“In addition, this cheap, easily-accessible pill is a massive boon to public health, both in Canada and internationally, allowing hospitals to avoid expensive and sometimes risky treatments.”
Stripe founder
From Skerries, Prof Mills left Ireland at 18 and has worked around the world in clinical research.
Having organised clinical trials for drugs against HIV and other viruses, he recognised at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic that it posed a similar challenge. “I think people who grew up as I did in the Ireland of the 1970s and 1980s can relate to what not having resources for health can be like.”
He says Mr Collison, the billionaire founder of online payments company Stripe, approached him last year with the idea of funding research into the potential of traditional drugs to fight Covid-19.
“These drugs are already in the pharmacy, known to be safe and they are usually cheap, so their potential for use in developing countries is huge.”
“His aim was to get good treatments for Covid to the kind of places that can’t afford monoclonal drugs. And by giving answers within days, his philanthropic foundation has turned medical research funding on its head.”
