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A cheap steroid found to reduce deaths among the worst-hit coronavirus patients by up to a third has been approved for immediate use in the NHS.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has immediately authorised the use of dexamethasone to treat all hospitalised patients who need oxygen, including those on ventilators, from Tuesday.
The drug has been proven in trials to reduce the risk of death significantly in Covid-19 patients on ventilation by as much as 35%, and patients on oxygen by 20%, reducing the total 28-day mortality rate by 17%.
The UK also has a stockpile of 200,000 courses of the anti-inflammatory drug, meaning doctors can use it to start saving potentially thousands of lives straight away.
The drug is also cheap, with a complete course on the NHS costing only £5.
The move comes after the government-funded Recovery trial co-ordinated by scientists from the University of Oxford found the drug to have a significant impact in reducing death rates.
Hancock said: “I’m absolutely delighted that today we can announce the world’s first successful clinical trial for a treatment for Covid-19.
“This astounding breakthrough is testament to the incredible work being done by our scientists behind the scenes.
“From today the standard treatment for Covid-19 will include dexamethasone, helping save thousands of lives while we deal with this terrible virus.
“Guided by the science, the UK is leading the way in the global fight against coronavirus – with the best clinical trials, the best vaccine development and the best immunology research in the world.
“I want to thank the brilliant scientists at Oxford University, the thousands of patients who took part in the study, and my own team, led by professor Jonathan Van-Tam, who has done such a brilliant job driving this work.”
The drug has also been added to the government’s parallel export list, which bans companies from buying medicines meant for UK patients and selling them on for a higher price in another country.
This will protect supply for UK patients by enforcing regulatory action on those who flout the restrictions.
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said: “The Recovery trial is an outstanding example of the UK leading the world with an impressive study capable of delivering robust answers to critical questions. Although these data have not yet been peer-reviewed.
“The positive findings on dexamethasone follow the disappointing findings on hydroxychloroquine.
“Together these two results illustrate the power of properly conducted clinical trials and the inherent danger of assuming things work without robust data.
“Whilst tempting to do otherwise, it is always better to wait for the evidence.
“On the dexamethasone findings, this is very encouraging because the signal on reduced mortality applies to many of the patients admitted to hospitals and the drug is comparatively low priced and available worldwide.”