Medicine mix promising in the fight against COVID-19

A research team from Norway and Estonia has identified six existing drugs that work against COVID-19 in laboratory tests.

Over 9.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus after it broke out. More than 470,000 have died. There is currently no vaccine or cure, but the search for a vaccine continues.

Now a research team from Norway and Estonia has identified six existing medicines that work against the disease in laboratory tests, writes the regulatory journal Gemini.

These are medicines that work against several viruses at the same time, and have also been tested previously, so we know that they are safe to use for humans.

Two of the six drugs proved to have an even stronger effect when combined with each other, at least in cell cultures, the journal writes.

But not all the findings the team has made are equally positive. They have also found that another treatment option may not work.

Using blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat the seriously ill patients may only work if the plasma is taken right after the donor has recovered.

“If the plasma is taken two months after the donor was diagnosed, and then transferred to a sick patient, it may not work,” says Associate Professor Svein Arne Nordbø at the Institute of Clinical and Molecular Medicine.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today