Early Coronavirus Drug Trials Yield Mixed Results (1)

Drug trials on coronavirus patients in China yielded mixed results, with an HIV pill showing little benefit and a flu medication made by Fujifilm Holdings Corp. resulting in faster clearance of the virus.

The combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, marketed by AbbVie Inc. as Kaletra, didn’t improve the condition of severe Covid-19 patients or prevent them from dying more than standard care in a randomized, controlled trial of 199 patients. The research was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Kaletra pills.

Photographer: Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

A separate study of 80 patients receiving Fujifilm’s favipiravir, or Avigan, found it helped clear the virus ...