Scientists said Friday they had identified genetic variants that made patients more likely to develop severe COVID-19, in a breakthrough that could see new and existing drugs help patients survive the illness.

Axar.az informs that to determine why some people develop severe lung inflammation when sick with COVID-19, researchers analyzed mutations on the genomes of more than 2,000 critically ill patients across Britain.

They compared their genetic make-up to that of a control group and identified as many as eight sequences that were more common among the COVID-19 patients.

They found that these sequences are involved in the body's inflammatory response and how the immune system battles pathogens such as the novel coronavirus.

After further computer analysis, they highlighted two specific genes – TYK2 and CCR2 –that encode inflammatory protein molecules.

The researchers found that individuals who produce more of the TYK2 enzyme appeared to be at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.