Widely used unapproved drug not effective in treating Covid, finds Polish state-funded study

A state-funded study has shown that there is still no evidence that amantadine – a medication widely taken in Poland to treat COVID-19, and which was even endorsed by a member of the government, despite not being recommended by any health authority – is effective in treating those who have the virus.

“It is not possible to conclude that the administration of amantadine influences recovery and counteracts progression towards respiratory failure in patients in the early phase of COVID-19,” announced the Medical Research Agency (ABM), the state agency that commissioned the research.

The outcome of the nearly two-year-long study is consistent with previous findings published by ABM a year ago.

The fresh results come from a study conducted in Lublin by neurologist Konrad Rejdak. He has been one of the most vocal advocates of using amantadine – a drug normally used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis – to also treat also Covid patients.

As recently as November 2022, Rejdak claimed that the results of his study “substantially support the hypothesis of a protective effect of amantadine in early COVID-19 in addition to standard medical care”, reports broadcaster TOK FM.

However, after receiving the final results of the research, ABM has found that they do now show any significant effect of amantadine on Covid patients. “There was no effect differentiating the method of treatment from a placebo,” health minister Adam Niedzielski told TOK FM.

“Based on the results obtained by Professor Konrad Rejdak’s team, the use of amantadine cannot be recommended among outpatients,” added ABM.

Despite the lack of evidence for amantadine’s efficacy in treating Covid, sales of the drug boomed in Poland during the height of the pandemic. They were particularly high in areas that had the lowest rates of vaccination against Covid.

As well as being endorsed by a handful of doctors, such as Rejdak, amantadine was also recommended by deputy justice minister Marcin Warchoł.

In 2020, he said that he himself “is an example” that it works and the following year he wrote to the health minister to complain about the slow pace of research into its effectiveness.

But many doctors warned that use of amantadine to treat Covid was dangerous – not because the drug itself is harmful, but because many were choosing to take it instead of seeking proper treatment. By the time they did, it could be too late.

Its popularity during the pandemic also led to fears that supplies would run low for patients who actually needed the drug, such as those with Parkinson’s disease. That led the health ministry in December 2021 to restrict amantadine’s availability.

Main photo credit: Hospital CLÍNIC/Flickr (under CC BY-ND 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.