AstraZeneca Asthma Drug Cuts Covid Hospitalizations in Study

AstraZeneca Plc’s asthma treatment Pulmicort reduced the need for urgent care and hospitalization of Covid-19 patients in a small study, joining a handful of potentially promising treatments for the disease.

Early treatment with the inhaled drug, also known as budesonide, reduced the relative risk of such interventions by 90% over the 28-day study period, according to research from the University of Oxford, Astra’s partner in developing a Covid-19 vaccine. Participants also had a quicker resolution of fever and other symptoms.

The findings offer another example of an existing, low-cost medication showing benefits in Covid-19 patients even as more ...