Perhaps good news on the coronavirus front. And she comes from Lyon. The combination of two drugs could provide a “significant benefit” for patients with Covid-19, Inserm announced on Monday.
Test and combine already known molecules
At the origin of this work, the Virpath team, from the International Center for Infectious Disease Research, which brings together Inserm, CNRS, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1 and ENS Lyon. Edited by Manuel Rosa-Calatrava and Bruno Lina, they have been working for several weeks as part of the REACTing program in order to test molecules already known on the now famous Sars-cov-2.
Published by Cell Reports Médicine, their work shows the usefulness of a combination between remdesivir, used in the treatment of Ebola, and the antihypertensive drug diltiazem used in the treatment of angina pectoris. “The first positive results against this virus”, assures Inserm.
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“The team is continuing its preclinical trials with this dual therapy”
“By stimulating the innate immune response of the epithelia [tissus] respiratory, diltiazem potentiates the effect of remdesivir and offers the opportunity to reduce the doses. Remdesivir indeed has a certain toxicity in vivo in addition to being a very expensive drug “, underlines Manuel Rosa-Calatrava. in the Inserm press release.
So far, the tests have been carried out in vitro, “as close as possible to human physiology”.
“The team is continuing its preclinical trials with this dual therapy in animal models and hopes to launch a clinical trial next winter if the positive results are confirmed,” says Inserm.
To read also —> Coronavirus: the clinical study on treatments will be piloted in Lyon
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