Possible ‘Breakthrough’ Coronavirus Treatment With Natural Protein Cuts Risk of Death and Serious...

[Michie]

...Symptoms by 79%


An aerosol-based protein inhalant has been shown in trials to reduce the risk of death from SARS-CoV-2 and reduce the chance of developing serious symptoms by 79% compared to patients given a placebo.

Results also showed that patients were more than twice as likely to make a full recovery from Covid-19, meaning they had no lasting respiratory weakness or other damages.

The new drug called SNG001 is an inhalant of the naturally-occurring protein called interferon beta, and arose out of research conducted at the University of Southampton. The British biotech firm Synairgen, co-founded by three of the university’s professors, tested the treatment on 100 hospitalized COVID-19 patients (and 120 who were at home) in a randomized controlled trial spanning a period from March to May.

Continued below.
Possible ‘Breakthrough’ Coronavirus Treatment With Natural Protein Cuts Risk of Death and Serious Symptoms by 79%

 

[ReesePiece23]

Oh wow, Southampton FINALLY getting some international recognition.

Aww, I'm so proud of you Southampton. *Ruffles hair* (Just got to get you sorted now Portsmouth.)

 

[Tanj]

I don't get the emphasis on "natural protein". Unless they're extracting it from human beings (seems unlikely), I guarantee the source is not "natural", and is almost certainly a recombinant from Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. So yeah, promising therapeutic definitely. Natural protein, not so much.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

I don't get the emphasis on "natural protein". Unless they're extracting it from human beings (seems unlikely), I guarantee the source is not "natural", and is almost certainly a recombinant from Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. So yeah, promising therapeutic definitely. Natural protein, not so much.

It's a naturally occurring cytokine - our immune systems manufacture it.

 

[Tanj]

It's a naturally occurring cytokine - our immune systems manufacture it.

Our immune systems do not manufacture recombinant IFNb in Chinese hamster ovary cells. At least mine doesn't. IFNb as an antiviral has been known since 1957. Giving something a drug name, such as SNG001, means there's enough engineering in there for it to bypass the "you cannot patent a natural product" rule of the patent office.

In short, I object to the phrase "natural protein", like that's somehow cleverer, better, newer or more exciting than the alternatives, or that it is in fact an alternative.

 

[SelfSim]

Isn't any protein regarded as being a 'biological' (or 'bio-organic') molecule?
Ie: regardless of whether or not its been (re)engineered?

I mean if a massive protein were discovered by say, the onboard lab of the Curiosity Mars rover, we'd have 'cytokine storm' of our own to deal with here on Earth, as a result of that, no?

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Our immune systems do not manufacture recombinant IFNb in Chinese hamster ovary cells. At least mine doesn't. IFNb as an antiviral has been known since 1957. Giving something a drug name, such as SNG001, means there's enough engineering in there for it to bypass the "you cannot patent a natural product" rule of the patent office.

In short, I object to the phrase "natural protein", like that's somehow cleverer, better, newer or more exciting than the alternatives, or that it is in fact an alternative.

Whatever your objections, I'm pretty sure that's what they mean when they say it's 'natural' (what else?).

I can't see how it means "cleverer, better, newer or more exciting than the alternatives, or that it is in fact an alternative" - but I suspect it will sound more acceptable to those who think something 'natural' is somehow safer than a novel synthetic. But in the context of its likely use, marketing appeal is not likely to be particularly significant.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Isn't any protein regarded as being a 'biological' (or 'bio-organic') molecule?
Ie: regardless of whether or not its been (re)engineered?

I mean if a massive protein were discovered by say, the onboard lab of the Curiosity Mars rover, we'd have 'cytokine storm' of our own to deal with here on Earth, as a result of that, no?

In the context of disease treatment & prophylactic PR, 'natural' is opposed to 'synthetic'; just as it is often opposed to 'chemical' in the scientifically illiterate mind, i.e. "Is it natural? No, it's full of chemicals".

 

[SelfSim]

In the context of ...

I think this little aside demonstrates exactly that .. Ie: all three of us have brought in three different contexts .. and everyone therefore gets to be right!
Perfect example of how a context changes the meaning of a term.

 

[Tanj]

Whatever your objections, I'm pretty sure that's what they mean when they say it's 'natural' (what else?).

Well...

but I suspect it will sound more acceptable to those who think something 'natural' is somehow safer than a novel synthetic.

There you go. Answered your own question.

But in the context of its likely use, marketing appeal is not likely to be particularly significant.

Right, who cares about GMO. It's not even a thing.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

There you go. Answered your own question.

Well, no; I don't think so - for clarification, I think they meant that since interferon b is a natural component of immune systems, their version of interferon b is natural in that respect.

Right, who cares about GMO. It's not even a thing.

?

 

[hedrick]

It's promising, but in general I recommend not reposting PR announcements, but looking for evaluations from other medical experts. Here's one relevant to this: expert reaction to announcement by Synairgen that their drug SNG001 has had positive results in initial trials on COVID-19 patients | Science Media Centre. There is some concern because the people who got the placebo had a significantly higher rate of preexisting conditions. That doesn't mean that there's no benefit, but maybe not as much as reported.

This is a phase 2 trial. That means it's a test with a limited number of people to see if there is reason to do a full-scale phase 3. There clearly is. But it's not uncommon for drugs to look good in earlier phases but not end up looking so good after a full phase 3 trial.

 

[SelfSim]

[STAFF EDITED DELETED QUOTE] So I guess you'll volunteer to be deliberately contaminated with the SARS-2 virion then .. seeing as you are so convinced its a conspiracy?

By the way .. no ICU bed/ventilator will be made available, should you need one.