Summary of COVID-19 peginterferon lambda studies
Studies
Meta Analysis
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High-risk outpatient RCT with 931 peginterferon lambda patients and 1,018 control patients, showing significantly lower hospitalization/ER visits with treatment. Single subcutaneous injection. There were 85/931 and 286/1018 patients for which baseline SARS-CoV-2 status was unknown, p = 1.4e-27 (about 1 in 704 septillion). The most frequent risk factors were more common in the placebo group, for example obesity 39.1% control vs. 34.5% treatment, p = 0.04. Authors claim patients were unaware or the randomization assignments, however some patients received oral placebo in a trial of a treatment requiring subcutaneous injection. The numbers in Table 1 and Table S1 do not match, e.g., the text and Table 1 indicate 931 ITT interferon patients, while Table S1 shows 916. All deaths in the placebo arm were attributed to COVID-19, while only 50% were in the interferon arm. One placebo death is listed as both due to COVID-19 and due to acute myeloid leukemia (Table S6). See also [Kelleni].
Feb 2023, New England J. Medicine, http://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2209760, https://c19p.org/reis8
Small outpatient RCT with 30 peginterferon lambda and 30 control patients, showing improved viral clearance with treatment. Single subcutaneous injection of peginterferon lambda 180μg. NCT04354259.
Nov 2020, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30566-X/fulltext, https://c19p.org/feld
RCT 120 outpatients with mild/moderate COVID-19, showing no significant differences with peginterferon lambda-1a treatment. 180μg subcutaneous peginterferon lambda-1a. NCT04331899.
Mar 2021, Nature Communications, http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22177-1, https://c19p.org/jagannathan
Very small RCT with 14 hospitalized patients in the USA showing no significant differences with peginterferon lambda. Viral load was improved, however 86% of treatment versus 14% of control patients received remdesivir, and the median baseline viral load for treatment patients was 3.6 log10 copies/ml versus 0 for control.
Feb 2023, Frontiers in Medicine, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1095828/full, https://c19p.org/kim9
1. Reis et al., Early Treatment with Pegylated Interferon Lambda for Covid-19
1,949 patient peginterferon lambda early treatment RCT: 27% lower mortality (p=0.76), 42% lower hospitalization (p=0.04), and 51% fewer combined hospitalization/ER visits (p=0.003).High-risk outpatient RCT with 931 peginterferon lambda patients and 1,018 control patients, showing significantly lower hospitalization/ER visits with treatment. Single subcutaneous injection. There were 85/931 and 286/1018 patients for which baseline SARS-CoV-2 status was unknown, p = 1.4e-27 (about 1 in 704 septillion). The most frequent risk factors were more common in the placebo group, for example obesity 39.1% control vs. 34.5% treatment, p = 0.04. Authors claim patients were unaware or the randomization assignments, however some patients received oral placebo in a trial of a treatment requiring subcutaneous injection. The numbers in Table 1 and Table S1 do not match, e.g., the text and Table 1 indicate 931 ITT interferon patients, while Table S1 shows 916. All deaths in the placebo arm were attributed to COVID-19, while only 50% were in the interferon arm. One placebo death is listed as both due to COVID-19 and due to acute myeloid leukemia (Table S6). See also [Kelleni].
Feb 2023, New England J. Medicine, http://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2209760, https://c19p.org/reis8
2. Feld et al., Peginterferon lambda for the treatment of outpatients with COVID-19: a phase 2, placebo-controlled randomised trial
60 patient peginterferon lambda early treatment RCT: 75% lower progression (p=0.35) and 66% improved viral clearance (p=0.03).Small outpatient RCT with 30 peginterferon lambda and 30 control patients, showing improved viral clearance with treatment. Single subcutaneous injection of peginterferon lambda 180μg. NCT04354259.
Nov 2020, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30566-X/fulltext, https://c19p.org/feld
3. Jagannathan et al., Peginterferon Lambda-1a for treatment of outpatients with uncomplicated COVID-19: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
120 patient peginterferon lambda early treatment RCT: no change in hospitalization (p=1), 6% worse recovery (p=0.76), and 14% worse viral clearance (p=0.91).RCT 120 outpatients with mild/moderate COVID-19, showing no significant differences with peginterferon lambda-1a treatment. 180μg subcutaneous peginterferon lambda-1a. NCT04331899.
Mar 2021, Nature Communications, http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22177-1, https://c19p.org/jagannathan
4. Kim et al., Peginterferon lambda for the treatment of hospitalized patients with mild COVID-19: A pilot phase 2 randomized placebo-controlled trial
14 patient peginterferon lambda late treatment RCT: 200% higher ICU admission (p=1), 25% longer hospitalization (p=0.59), and 12% improved viral clearance (p=1).Very small RCT with 14 hospitalized patients in the USA showing no significant differences with peginterferon lambda. Viral load was improved, however 86% of treatment versus 14% of control patients received remdesivir, and the median baseline viral load for treatment patients was 3.6 log10 copies/ml versus 0 for control.
Feb 2023, Frontiers in Medicine, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1095828/full, https://c19p.org/kim9
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