A HAMPSHIRE-based biotech company has developed a new treatment for Covid-19 that dramatically reduces the number of patients needing intensive care.

Synairgen, located in Southampton, is trialling a drug using a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it gets a viral infection. 

Research has found the treatment cut the odds of a Covid patient in hospital developing severe disease - such as requiring ventilation - by 79 per cent. 

Patients were two to three times more likely to recover to the point where everyday activities had little or no impact on their illness, Synairgen claims.

Patients experienced "very significant" reductions in breathlessness, the trial indicated.

The average hospital time for patients receiving the new drug was reduced by a third, down from an average of nine days to six days.

The double-blind trial involved 101 volunteers who had been admitted for treatment at nine UK hospitals for Covid-19 infections.

Half of the participants were given the drug, the other half got what is known as a placebo - an inactive substance.

How does the treatment work?

Part of the body's first line of defence against viruses is interferon beta, which warns it to expect a viral attack. 

The new drug is a special mix of interferon beta delivered directly to the airways via a nebuliser which makes the protein into an aerosol.

When a patient directly injects themselves with the protect in the lungs, it triggers a stronger anti-viral response.

Interferon beta is commonly used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Previous clinical trials conducted by Synairgen have shown that it can stimulate an immune response and that patients with asthma and other chronic lung conditions can comfortably withstand the treatment.