HIV Drug Used to Successfully Treat Coronavirus – VANCOUVER, Wash. – A company in Vancouver, Wash., says it is making great progress with an experimental HIV drug it developed that has now turned into a possible COVID-19 treatment.
The company, CytoDyn, says the drug Leronlimab has been administered to more than 30 people. Many, even some severe cases, are seeing incredible improvements.
Samantha Mottet is one of those severe cases.
“I was really tired back on March 16th,” she says. “Then the next day, I had a bit of an eye infection.”
She thought it was a cold.
By March 22, she knew something wasn’t right.
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“They did a chest X-ray and sent me home. They said, ‘You don’t have the flu, your chest looks good and our hospital is full of the coronavirus, so it’s best you go home.’ But they did swab my nose for coronavirus,” Mottet said.
A day later, that test came back positive.
And a week after that, Mottet was admitted to the hospital, not breathing on her own, hooked up to feeding tubes. Things, as she says, weren’t looking good.
“I felt like the devil was trying to drag me down. That he had me by the jugular, and I fought tooth and nail to live,” Mottet said.
At times, she said she was certain she would die.
She said her doctors tried multiple experimental drugs.
But by April 1, things were worse. That’s when doctors decided to try the experimental drug Leronlimab created by CytoDyn. On April 3, through a shot under her skin, they gave her the drug.
And within 24 hours, everything changed.
“Within 24 hours, my breathing tube was no longer needed and oxygen, I wasn’t needing as much oxygen. Then on April 5th, my 55th birthday, they took out my breathing and feeding tube. By the next day I didn’t need oxygen,” Mottet said.
Mottet was sent home shortly after, where she continues to recover. She says breathing is difficult at times, but she feels lucky to be alive.
As for CytoDyn, they are in Phase 2 of their FDA trial. They have four hospitals across the country that will be trying the drug Leronlimab.
The company say the drug has been administered to more than 30 people so far. All are seeing improvements. Ten people who received the drug were considered severe cases – and Mottet was one of those cases.
Their hope is to get their drug approved by the FDA within the next month as a treatment for coronavirus.
