Covid treatment: New study finds a drug effective against a key enzyme causing COVID-19

Covid treatment: New study finds a drug effective against a key enzyme causing COVID-19

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The COVID-19 pandemic has seen researchers and scientists urgently call for efficient and safe antiviral treatments to prevent and protect against the virus. A drug has been studied extensively with researchers claiming to shown be effective at preventing COVID-19.

Scientists at the University of Alberta have shown that the drug remdesivir is highly effective in stopping the replication mechanism of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The study was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Researchers found remdisiver helped to work against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus related to COVID-19.

Remdesivir is an antiviral medication that targets a range of viruses.

The drug was originally developed over a decade ago to treat hepatitis C and a cold-like virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Studies undertaken in cells and animals suggested that remdesivir was effective against viruses in the coronavirus family, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Coronaviruses have genomes made up ribonucleic acid (RNA) with the drug shown to interfere with one of the key enzymes the virus needs to replicate RNA, preventing the virus from multiplying.

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“We were optimistic that we would see the same results against the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said Matthias Götte, chair of medical microbiology and immunology at U of A.

“We obtained almost identical results as we reported previously with MERS, so we see that remdesivir is a very potent inhibitor for coronavirus polymerases.

“If you target the polymerase, the virus cannot spread, so it’s a very logical target for treatment.

“These coronavirus polymerases are sloppy, and they get fooled, so the inhibitor gets incorporated many times and the virus can no longer replicate.”

Polymerase is any of several enzymes which catalyse the formation of DNA or RNA from precursor substances in the presence of pre-existing DNA or RNA acting as a template.

According to numerous studies, remdesivir is a very potent inhibitor for coronavirus polymerases, demonstrating its potential for combatting COVID-19.

Remdesivir is one of several drugs being fast-tracked into trials by the World Health Organization, comparing potential treatments in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a dozen countries.

Götte said it is disappointing that antivirals discovered at the time of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, which might have been effective against COVID-19 too, were never translated into widely available treatments, largely because of the huge cost involved in developing new drugs.

“This time around it’s obvious that we have to cross the finish line,” he added.

“Ten billion dollars, it seems a lot, a huge amount.

“But in the context of this pandemic and the costs associated with this pandemic, it’s nothing.”

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