The trial was carried out in Athens, Greece, because Israel – a country with almost all of its vaccinated population – did not have enough relevant patients. The result of the first trial was that 29 of 30 seriously ill COVID-19 patients were discharged quickly, while, in this second phase, 93% of the 90 study participants were cured in five days or less.
Dr. Nadir Arber explained that, unlike steroids (another type of drug used experimentally to treat COVID-19), EXO-CD24 does not affect the immune system as a whole, but only attacks this mechanism, helping to regain its correct balance. Arber had already studied, for more than 25 years, the CD24 molecule, present in the membranes of human cells, and his effort is yielding results.
Arber also explains that it is “precision medicine” because By shipping derivatives of this membrane exactly where they are needed, side effects are avoided. However, he is cautious about the future of the drug, warning that no matter how promising the results of the first phases may be, no one can be sure until the results are compared with patients receiving a placebo.
This medicine is inhalable and requires a daily aspiration, for a few minutes. Through this method, an exaggerated reaction of the human being’s immune system is avoided in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and which is the cause of the worsening of the disease.
Indeed, the next step is to conduct a trial with 155 patients, where two-thirds of the group will receive the drug, while the rest will be treated with a placebo. Results are expected by the end of 2021 and, if the results are positive, this medicine could be produced quickly and at a low cost.