Summary
The authors concluded that the antiparasitic drug demonstrates in-vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 at high concentrations. After a thorough review of 24 randomized controlled trials, including 3328 patents—found via a number of data sources such as PUBMED, EMBASE, MedRxiv and trial registries—the authors found that the generic, repurposed drug was in fact associated with lower inflammatory markers, accelerated viral clearance as measured by PCR. Furthermore, in probing the study data, they further found that treatment dose as well as duration correlated with viral clearance.
The drug performed well in studies where it was administered to moderate-to-severe infected SARS-CoV-2 patients. In fact, Hill et al. report a 56% reduction in mortality (Relative Risk 0.44 [95% CI 0.25-0.77]; p=0.004; 35/1064 (3%) deaths on ivermectin; 93/1063 (9%) deaths in controls) inclusive of “favorable clinical recovery and reduced hospitalization.”
As the world’s medical authorities seek peer-reviewed data, the fact that a number of the studies lacked that particularly important status led in part to the recommendation that more evidence is needed, despite the pandemic conditions. Thus, they report in the summary, “A network of large clinical trials is in progress to validate the results seen to date.”