The investigators screened 6,000 existing compounds, currently in late-stage clinical trials or already approved for other conditions. The investigators are a part of a research collaboration that includes the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the National Institutes of Health and Florida State University in Tallahassee.
The research team identified compounds that showed their ability to hinder or halt the progress of the Zika virus in lab-grown human neural cells. The compounds can be divided into two classes — neuroprotective drugs, which prevent cell death-causing mechanisms being activated, and antiviral drugs, which slow or stop viral infection or replication.
Overall, three drugs showed the most promise:
• PHA-690509 — an investigational compound with antiviral properties
• Emricasan — currently in clinical trials to reduce liver damage from hepatitis C virus
• Niclosamide — a drug already used in humans and livestock to combat parasitic infections
However, these drugs “are very effective against Zika in the dish, but we don’t know if they can work in humans in the same way,” noted Hongjun Song, PhD, director of the stem cell program in the Institute of Cell Engineering at Johns Hopkins and a study author.
The next step is to test these drugs in animal models.
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