A broad spectrum antiviral appears effective for early treatment of COVID-19 across dominant variants. 

A new Phase 3 study conducted by the international team of drug researchers behind the TOGETHER Trial has found that patients infected with COVID-19 were significantly less likely to be hospitalised or visit emergency departments when treated early with the antiviral drug pegylated interferon lambda. 

The large-scale randomised, placebo-controlled trial involving predominantly vaccinated adults with COVID-19 found there to be a 51 percent reduction in hospitalisation or emergency department visits among patients who received a single subcutaneous dose of the drug, compared with those in the placebo group.

Importantly, throughout the trial - which was conducted between June 2021 and February 2022 - multiple new COVID-19 variants had emerged. 

Early treatment with the antiviral was found to be effective across dominant variants, which is significant given that the emergence of new variants has threatened the efficacy of many therapeutic agents, thus creating an urgent need for alternative treatment options.

The study is published in The New England Journal of Medicine.