THE ESSENTIAL
- These treatments would also act against the variants.
- The drugs in question are darapladib, which treats atherosclerosis, Flumatinib, a cancer drug, and an HIV drug.
- They target the envelope protein and protein 3a.
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It is the other workhorse against the virus. Along with vaccines, researchers are working to find drugs to fight Covid-19 in infected patients. In Israel, scientists have said they have got their hands on three highly effective drugs against the virus since laboratory tests on these already existing treatments have shown an effectiveness close to 100%.
3 out of 3,000 drugs
Researchers put the substances in contact with living SARS-CoV-2 cells and human cells in vitro. “Medicines can protect cells from virus attack with close to 100% efficiency, which means almost 100% of cells survived despite infection with the virus., noted Professor Isaiah Arkin, a Hebrew University biochemist behind the research, at Times of Israel. Under normal circumstances, about half of the cells would have died within two days of contact with the virus. ” These treatments would also act against the variants.
Before discovering these treatments, the researchers say they looked at more than 3,000 drugs to determine if they were appropriate. “A needle in a haystack”, Summarized Isaiah Arkin, who works in a center of the Hebrew University specializing in the rehabilitation of existing drugs. The fact that these drugs are already existing makes it possible to use them more quickly if their efficacy has been verified because they have already undergone numerous tests attesting to their harmlessness.
Spike protein not targeted
Being able to have treatment would be a new bowstring in the fight against Covid. “We have the vaccine, but we must not rest on our laurels, and I would like these drugs to be part of the arsenal we are using to fight the coronavirus.”, Adds Isaiah Arkin. The latter wants to work with a pharmaceutical company so that the drugs he has identified are quickly clinically tested.
The drugs in question are darapladib, which treats atherosclerosis, Flumatinib, a cancer drug, and an HIV drug. None of them target the Spike protein. They target two other proteins: the envelope protein and protein 3a. These have the advantage of not being modified according to the different variants, and even from one disease to another of the coronavirus family. “The envelope protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is approximately 95% identical to that of the first SARS outbreak of 2003, while the spike protein is less than 80% identical”, Says Isaiah Arkin.
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