In the study, promising HIV and antiviral drugs failed spectacularly to have effect on infected patients.
The patients who were given anti-HIV medication lopinavir/ritonavir or the flu tablets Arbidol did not improve any quicker than those treated with placebo .
Sufferers given the antivirals also reported side effects including diarrhoea, nausea, and loss of appetite.
For this reason, the researchers recommend that the drug should not be used as COVID-19 therapies.
Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) was earmarked as one of the most promising treatments for coronavirus after lab studies showed it stopped coronavirus from replicating.
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The Mail OnlineΒ reported it is being tested on NHS patients in the UK as part of the biggest COVID-19 trial, called RECOVERY.
The study is being led by Oxford University and is trialling five existing drugs on more than 6,000 patients around the country.
Arbidol, generic name umifenovir, is a Soviet-era flu and cold medication predominantly only used in Russia and China.
Both drugs are protease inhibitors which stick to viral molecules and prevent them from multiplying and spreading.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
