The University of Oxford said it was testing anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as a possible treatment for Covid-19, as part of a British government backed study that aims to aid recoveries in non-hospital settings.

Ivermectin resulted in a reduction of virus replication in laboratory studies, the university said, adding that a small pilot showed giving the drug early could reduce viral load and the duration of symptoms in some patients with mild Covid-19, Reuters reports.

Dubbed PRINCIPLE, the British study in January showed that antibiotics azithromycin and doxycycline were generally ineffective against early-stage Covid-19.

While the World Health Organisation, and European and US regulators have recommended against using ivermectin in Covid-19 patients, it is being used to treat the illness in some countries, including India.