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Writing with Lusa
One study showed an almost total reduction in the viral load of the new coronavirus.
A Spanish drug tested in France and the United States showed an almost total reduction in the viral load of the new coronavirus, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Science.
In animal experiments with the drug plitidepsin, a drug used in tumors, the result was promising antiviral efficacy and toxicity, according to the company that produces it.
The authors state that plitidepsin is the compound that has been shown to be most effective and argue that it should be tested in large clinical trials.
In two different animal experiments in which there was SARS-CoV-2 infection, a 99 percent reduction in viral load was achieved in lungs treated with plitidepsin.
In the article published in Science, the researchers note that although toxicity is a concern in any antiviral, the safety profile of plitidepsin in humans is proven.
The drug works by blocking a human protein (eEF1A) that is present in cells and is used by the new coronavirus to reproduce and infect other cells.
“We believe that our data and the initial positive results from the PharmaMar clinical trial suggest that plitidepsin should be seriously considered to expand clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19,” the researchers consider.
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