Steroids like Aspen’s dexamethasone can cut Covid-19 deaths, study shows – Wall Street Journal

BizNews reported recently that South African pharmaceutical maker Aspen says it can provide 10 million dexamethasone tablets within a month. "Aspen has looked at the short-term needs and can provide 10 million tablets… We would look to ramp up further should there be a need for additional product," Saad told Reuters. At the time, it was reported that an Oxford University study showed that dexamethasone reduced death rates by around a third compared with a placebo in severely ill hospitalised Covid-19 patients. The news gets even better now, with the Wall Street Journal reporting on a new analysis, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which looked at multiple studies involving a total of 1,700 patients. The analysis found that a number of corticosteroids — anti-inflammatory drugs that can damp the effects of an overactive immune system — helped reduce deaths from Covid-19 by about a third, compared with patients who didn't receive steroids. The treatment is only recommended for people who are severely ill – but the study is being hailed as "one of the first unambiguous wins in trying to combat Covid-19". – Renee Moodie

Covid-19 deaths significantly reduced by use of steroids, analysis says

By Joseph Walker

A new analysis of several studies in which steroid drugs were used to treat severely ill Covid-19 patients found the drugs significantly helped reduce patient deaths, bolstering earlier, preliminary evidence for the benefit of these medications.

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