Interferon beta-1a for COVID-19: critical importance of the administration route

Excerpt

Type I interferons, especially IFN-beta, have been appointed as potential leading therapeutics to tackle severe COVID-19 and are currently being evaluated in REMAP-CAP and the WHO’s Solidarity Trial. As a most recent example, combination treatments with IFN-beta, lopinavir-ritonavir, and ribavirin showed that the arm containing IFN-beta was superior in eliminating the virus from the nasopharyngeal swabs in phase II clinical trial [1]. Recent papers on the matter unfortunately fall short of differentiating between subcutaneous (s.c.) and intravenous (i.v.) administration, which are completely different treatments concerning drug exposure and wanted effects in the lung endothelium, which is under attack in COVID-19 [2]. We wish to highlight the differences of these two treatment methods and also other crucial aspects of IFN-beta treatment for COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). …