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Monday, May 11, 2020

Are researchers studying an antacid’s effect on COVID-19?

Remaya Campbell, Gigafact Foundry
yes

Researchers from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York and Columbia University Medical Center have enrolled at least 150 participants in a study testing the effects of famotidine (the active ingredient in the common heartburn drug Pepcid) on COVID-19 patients. The study launched in the U.S. after molecular modeling and positive reports from China suggested that famotidine could serve as a possible inhibitor to the virus that causes COVID-19.

In May 2020, preliminary findings were released showing that the use of famotidine on hospitalized COVID-19 patients was associated with reduced need for breathing machines and reduced risks of death. The study is not yet peer-reviewed and clinical trials remain ongoing.

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