Australia tests drug that can suppress coronavirus in 48 hours

A study by Australian scientists proved that one of the antiparasitic drugs effectively stops the growth of viral particles in vitro.

The results of a laboratory study conducted at the Royal Hospital of Melbourne showed that the well-known antiparasitic drug stops the growth of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell culture for 48 hours.

“We found that even a single dose of a drug [non-toxic to cells] can almost completely – by 99.98% – destroy viral RNA in 48 hours and significantly reduce the concentration of viruses in the medium in 24 hours,” said lead author of the study, Dr. Kylie Wagstaff from the MU School of Biomedicine.

According to her, the effectiveness of the drug so far has been proven only in laboratory conditions, it must be confirmed during clinical trials. It is necessary to find out whether the dosage that can be used for humans will be effective in combating coronavirus.

Researchers note that the mechanism by which the virus is exposed is unknown. Presumably, the effectiveness of the drug is based on its ability to suppress the effect of the virus on cellular immunity.

The MU press service emphasized that, despite the proven effectiveness in the laboratory, the drug can not yet be used to treat or prevent coronavirus infection in humans. The use of this drug in the fight against coronavirus infection in the future depends on the results of preclinical and clinical trials, during which scientists will find out how safe and effective it is.

In the commentary, Doctor of Biological Sciences, professor at the GMU School of Systems Biology (USA) Ancha Baranova explained that this substance has long been studied, and for its discovery in 2015, they even gave the Nobel Prize, but “not for its antiviral effects, but for others – relevant to residents of hot countries and for livestock. Then they discovered its antiviral activity. ” She also added that the drug was “tested on several dangerous viruses, moreover, successfully, but it didn’t go beyond the initial experiments.”

Of course, until clinical trials in humans have been conducted, there are no guarantees that the substance will work against COVID-2019. However, according to the professor, the drug can be used to treat people, bypassing the stage of animal testing, because it had previously been tested on humans.