Low-dose Rapamycin for Long COVID: A rundown of our newest clinical trial

Prof David Putrino presented a clinical trial on rapamycin (sirolimus) in Long COVID. Rapamycin is a macrocyclic antibiotic and also an m-TOR inhibitor, which has an immunosuppressive effect in high doses. It is used for its antiproliferative effects in cancer treatments or as an immunosuppressant in organ transplantation. At low doses, it has immunomodulatory effects. In Long COVID, viral reactivation, chronic inflammatory reactions, and dysregulation of the immune system can be observed. Rapamycin could help combat these symptoms: It stabilises the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, improves T cell function, reduces the number of (re-)infections, and compensates for the age-related decline in the efficiency of the immune system. A currently conducted randomised, controlled, double-blind study with 80 Long COVID patients is investigating the efficacy of single weekly doses over a period of three months and is still in the recruitment phase. The goal is to identify suitable biomarkers of treatment-responsive subjects and then plan a larger study using the previously identified biomarkers as inclusion criteria.