Professor Jo Porter and her team won the Sir David Cooksey Prize in Translation for their clinical study, COVASE, examining whether the cystic fibrosis drug Dornase alfa could benefit hospitalised patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.
The study reached its primary endpoint, showing decreased CRP levels (inflammation marker), decreased oxygen requirements and reduced hospital stays from 11 to 5 days. Participants were found to have a 63% higher chance of surviving and leaving hospital, compared to patients receiving the best available care.
The scientific hypothesis for this study was generated in part from previous Breathing Matters important and ongoing work on neutrophils and extracellular traps. The Porter team worked with Veni Papayannopoulos’ team from the Francis Crick Institute.
“This would not have been possible without the amazing hard work and support of the Joint Research Office and Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH, the clinical research nursing team led by Joel Solis and of course the patients and their families that agreed to take part,” said Joanna. “The beauty of this treatment is that it has been used for decades by children with cystic fibrosis and we know that it is safe and well-tolerated in this group.”.
We will post more information on the study once published.