New research adds to the growing body of evidence that sofosbuvir and daclatasvir, a drug combination commonly used for the treatment of hepatitis C, can improve clinical outcomes in patients with moderate or severe COVID-19.

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Three studies, published in Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, researched the use of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir for the treatment of COVID-19. These three studies come from Iran, which has developed its own pill containing sofosbuvir and daclatasvir, and is in a position to test this in a large clinical trial as Iran is a massively impacted country, reporting some 2,500 cases and 200 deaths a day. "Despite the encouraging initial results, it is too early to reach a verdict. Larger, well-designed studies are required to confirm our results," said Shahin Merat, the lead author of one of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy articles, from Tehran University in Iran.

Currently no effective antiviral therapy has been found to treat COVID-19. The aim of the trials was to assess if the addition of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir, a drug combination commonly used for the treatment of hepatitis C, improved clinical outcomes in patients with moderate or severe COVID-19.