A major clinical trial shows that an inflammatory drug called colchicine is effective in treating Covid-19 and reduces the risk of complications from the disease, doctors in Canada said.
The results of the study are a "major scientific discovery" and make colchicine -- a medicine used to treat gout -- "the world's first oral drug that could be used to treat non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19," the Montreal Heart Institute said in a statement late on Friday.
The study results show that colchicine reduced by 21% the risk of death or hospitalizations in patients with Covid-19 compared to placebo, the institute said.
The study was carried out in Canada, US, Europe and South America among a population of 4,488 patients.
In 4,159 of these patients, in whom the diagnosis of Covid-19 was proven by a naso-pharyngeal PCR test, use of colchicine reduced hospitalizations by 25%, the need for mechanical ventilation by 50%, and deaths by 44%, the study concluded.
Colchicine is effective in preventing dangerous inflammatory syndromes called "cytokine storms" and reducing complications associated with Covid-19, said Dr Jean-Claude Tardif, director of the MHI Research Centre and principal investigator in this study.
"We are pleased to offer the first oral medication in the world whose use could have a significant impact on public health and potentially prevent Covid-19 complications for millions of patients," Tardif said.
The study was conducted among Covid-19 patients not hospitalized at the time of enrollment in the trial, and with at least one risk factor for Covid-19 complications.
"This is the world's largest study testing an orally administered drug in non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19," the heart institute said.