"Nature" latest paper: large-scale screening found 13 potential anti-covi drugs

Reporter : Sun Zifa

Publisher : China News Network, via ScienceNet

Ref : http://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2020/7/443265.shtm

Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan

                                 / KUCINTA SETIA

The internationally renowned academic journal "Nature" published an online research paper on drug reuse on 24 July 2020, saying that researchers are screening nearly 12,000 species that are in clinical research stage or approved by the FDA ( After the drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 13 species were found to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 (covi, in short) in cultured cells, which can be regarded as potential anti-covi drugs.

The paper stated that a practical strategy for developing covid treatments is to reuse drugs that have been approved or are in clinical research, because the pharmacological activity and safety of these drugs have been confirmed.

The corresponding author of the paper, Sumit Chanda, a virologist at the Sanford-Burnham Pribis Institute of Medical Discovery in California, USA, and his colleagues, passed a project to evaluate nearly 12,000 drugs to block the new crown A large-scale screening study for the potential of virus replication has finally found 100 molecules that can inhibit virus replication, 13 of which exhibit particularly impressive characteristics-especially that can produce effects at realistic dose levels. These drugs include the anti-HIV (HIV) drug R 82913, a member of the family of drugs used to treat diabetes (PPAR-γ agonists)-DS-6930, the potential drug ONO 5334 for the treatment of osteoporosis, and the treatment of autoimmunity Apilimod for diseases such as Crohn's disease.

The three most effective drugs are ONO 5334, Apilimod and MDL 28170 (MDL 28170 has previously been shown to weaken Ebola virus infection). Researchers used cultured lung tissue to test their ability to reduce the replication of covi. The results showed that ONO 5334, MDL 28170 and apimod reduced the number of infected cells by 72%, 65% and 85%, respectively. Previously, it has been shown that Apilimod is well tolerated in the human body and also shows good safety in the dose range that may produce antiviral effects.

The authors of the paper concluded that many of the drugs identified in this study have been tested in a clinical setting, which can speed up their preclinical evaluation and clinical evaluation, and promote understanding of their potential for treating covid patients.