Product profiles that could make interferons effective against COVID-19

The recent failure of IFNβ in WHO’s master protocol trial for COVID-19 notwithstanding, there are plenty of reasons to suspect that interferons should be effective treatments for the infection. An analysis of the clinical readouts to date, along with emerging non-clinical studies in patients, suggests the tissue-specificity of interferons at different points in the disease may matter more than the type of interferon delivered. 

Type I interferons IFNα and IFNβ, and type III interferon IFN-λ, were among the earliest candidates to emerge as COVID-19 countermeasures due to their known roles in activating cellular antiviral defense programs including immune responses. IFNα products have been used for years to treat HCV infection...