Already available drugs may help treat coronavirus

As pharmaceutical companies and government researchers race to find a cure for the new strain of coronavirus, new research suggests that there are medications already on the market that may help treat the virus, dubbed COVID-19.

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European researchers detailed their findings in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. They found that several already approved drugs could be repurposed to fight COVD-19.

The researchers reviewed information on the discovery and development of broad-spectrum antiviral agents, which target viruses from two or more different viral families. They summarized their findings for 120 drugs and created a free database. Of those, 31 could possibly be used to treat COVID-19 infections.

“For example, teicoplanin, oritavancin, dalbavancin and monensin are approved antibiotics that have been shown to inhibit corona- and other viruses in the laboratory,” said Denis Kainov, PhD, senior author on the paper and an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway.

Clinical investigations have begun into the effectiveness of five drug candidates for treating COVID-19, the researchers said.

More articles on infection control:
‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst’: UNMC infection control chief talks coronavirus
UW Health sees tenfold increase in pediatric flu cases
Treatment for antibiotic-resistant pneumonia patients could make them worse, study finds

 

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