New Study Identifies 21 Existing Medications That Could Treat COVID-19

A Nature Study conducted by a global team of scientists and led by Sumit Chanda, Ph.D., a professor at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Institute for Medical Discovery, has identified 21 existing drugs that stop the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. – 19)

Scientists analyzed one of the world’s largest collections of drugs known for their ability to block SARS-CoV-2 replication, and reported 100 molecules with confirmed antiviral activity in laboratory tests. Of these, 21 drugs were determined to be effective at concentrations that could be safely achieved in patients. In particular, four of these compounds were found to work synergistically with remdesivir, a current standard of care for COVID-19.

“Remdesivir has been shown to be successful in shortening the recovery time of patients in the hospital, but the drug does not work for everyone who receives it. That is not good enough,” says Chanda, director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys and lead author of the study. “As infection rates continue to rise in the United States and around the world, it remains urgent to find affordable, effective, and readily available medications that can complement the use of remdesivir, as well as medications that could be given prophylactically or at first sign of infection on an outpatient basis. “

Extensive tests performed

In the study, the research team performed extensive test and validation studies, including evaluating the drugs in human lung biopsies that were infected with the virus, evaluating the drugs for synergies with remdesivir, and establishing dose relationships -response between drugs and antiviral activity.

Of the 21 drugs that were effective in blocking viral replication, the scientists found:

• 13 have previously entered clinical trials for other indications and are effective at concentrations or doses that could be safely achieved in patients with COVID-19.
• Two are already FDA approved: astemizole (allergies), clofazamine (leprosy), and remdesivir received the agency’s Emergency Use Authorization (COVID-19).
• Four worked synergistically with remdesivir, including the chloroquine derivative hanfangchin A (tetrandrine), an antimalarial drug that has reached phase 3 clinical trials.

“This study significantly expands potential therapeutic options for COVID-19 patients, especially since many of the molecules already have clinical safety data in humans,” says Chanda. “This report provides the scientific community with a larger arsenal of potential weapons that can help launch the current global pandemic.”

Researchers are currently testing the 21 compounds in small animal models and “mini-lungs,” or lung organoids, that mimic human tissue. If these studies are favorable, the team will approach the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss a clinical trial evaluating the drugs as treatments for COVID-19.

“Based on our current analysis, clofazimine, hanfangchin A, apilimod, and ONO 5334 represent the best short-term options for effective COVID-19 treatment,” says Chanda. “While some of these drugs are currently in clinical trials for COVID-19, we believe that it is important to search for additional drug candidates so that we have multiple therapeutic options if SARS-CoV-2 becomes drug resistant.”

Examining one of the world’s largest drug libraries

The drugs were first identified through high-throughput screening of more than 12,000 drugs from the ReFRAME Drug Reuse Collection, the most comprehensive collection of drug reuse compounds that has been approved by the FDA for other diseases or is It has been extensively tested for human security.

Arnab Chatterjee, Ph.D., vice president of medicinal chemistry at Calibr and co-author of the article, says ReFRAME was established to address areas of unmet urgent medical need, especially neglected tropical diseases. “We realized early in the COVID-19 pandemic that ReFRAME would be an invaluable drug screening resource to reuse against the new coronavirus,” says Chatterjee.

The drug test was completed as quickly as possible due to Chanda’s association with the scientist who discovered the first SARS virus, Kwok-Yung Yuen, MD, president of Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong; and Shuofeng Yuan, Ph.D., an assistant research professor in the Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, who had access to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in February 2020.