Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir)
Lopimune (Kaletra ) is an HIV medication containing a combination of two antivirals called lopinavir and ritonavir. In vitro and clinical studies looking at patients who had previously received these antiviral agents suggest that they may have some activity against SARS and MERS (infections caused by other coronaviruses). Data for using Kaletra in COVID-19 is limited.
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In one randomized study of 199 people hospitalized with COVID-19, there was no difference between using Kaletra and not using it in terms of how long it took for patients to improve. Another small study of 127 people with mild COVID-19 symptoms looked at Kaleta alone compared to Kaletra in combination with interferon beta-1b and ribavirin. They found that the group who got all three medications improved sooner and cleared the virus faster (7 days) than those who only got Kaletra (12 days). The NIH currently recommends against using Kaletra for COVID-19.
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