17 Existing Drugs, A Dietary Supplement, That Can Block COVID-19 Infection In Cells
The emergence of the COVID-19 virus had our scientists scrambling to find a cure at the earliest. In the absence of any breakthrough, they had identified many existing drugs, which are used for treatment of other diseases, for use against this virus. Today, some of these drugs are accepted as standard protocol for treatment of COVID-19 while some are shrouded in controversy. Drugs like Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, Ivermectin and Dexamethasone are today widely used to fight this viral infection. But experts are divided about the efficacy of these drugs against this particular virus. Now a new study reveals several drug contenders, which are already in use for the treatment of other diseases, that can block or reduce COVID-19 infection in cells. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The 17 drugs include 10 new and 7 previously identified drugs
This new ground-breaking study from Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, reveals several drug contenders already in use for other purposes, including one dietary supplement, that have been shown to block or reduce COVID-19 infection in cells. For the purpose of the study, researchers use artificial intelligence-powered image analysis of human cell lines during infection with COVID-19. They treated the cells with over 1,400 different FDA-approved drugs and compounds, either before or after infection, and then screened the results. Here, we list the highlights of the study.
- The entire exercise threw up 17 potential hits.
- Ten of those 17 hits were drugs that were newly recognized for the treatment of COVID-19.
- Seven of these hits are drugs that were identified in earlier drug repurposing studies.
- This includes Remdesivir, one of the few FDA-approved therapies for COVID-17 in hospitalized patients.
All identified drugs can go for phase 2 trials
Usually, the drug development process takes almost a decade, if not more. But in the present scenario, scientists don't have the luxury of time. They are under a lot of pressure to find a working treatment protocol for COVID-19 at the earliest. According to the researchers of the above-mentioned study, the 17 therapies which they discovered can do straight to phase 2 clinical trials since their safety is already established.
A dietary supplement that can block COVID-19 infection
The
research team validated all 17 candidate compounds in different types
of cells. This included stem-cell derived human lung cells. This was
done in an effort to mimic COVID-19 infection of the respiratory tract.
They saw anti-viral activity at reasonable doses in nine of the
compounds. This included lactoferrin, which is a protein present in
human breastmilk. This protein is also available over the counter as a
dietary supplement derived from cow's milk. The researchers were
pleasantly surprised to see that lactoferrin was highly effective in
preventing infection. And the best thing is that it can also block
infection from the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Medicines that adversely affect COVID-19
During the course of the study, researchers also identified a class of compounds called MEK-inhibitors, which is used in the treatment of cancer, can worsen COVID-19 infection. Hence, they caution that cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy may be adversely affected especially since their immunity is already low because of treatment. But they say that further studies are needed to confirm if the identified drugs worsen disease progression.