The RECOVERY trial (which stands for ‘Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY’) was funded by UKRI as part of the UKRI/DHSC/NIHR COVID-19 rapid research response.

The drug, which is currently used to treat ulcerative colitis, arthritis and some types of cancer, was found to have reduced the number of deaths of patients on ventilators and patients requiring oxygen by a third and by a fifth respectively.