A previously tested active ingredient for various illnesses may now become a valuable weapon in the COVID-19 drug quiver. Decreases viral load and is equally effective against mutated strains of the virus.

According to research, published in the journal Science, from the University of Chicago, the active ingredient masitinib may be useful in the treatment of COVID-19.

In human cell cultures and animal models, the medicine, which has undergone many clinical trials for various diseases but has not yet been licensed for treatment in humans, reduced SARS-CoV-2 replication, resulting in significantly lower virus loads.

Researchers from Pritzker University’s School of Molecular Engineering (PME) discovered that the medicine could be effective against a variety of coronaviruses and picornaviruses. Because of its replication-inhibiting properties, the drug has been proven to be effective against COVID-19 mutations.

“Inhibitors of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, like masitinib, could be a new potential way to treat COVID patients, especially in early stages of the disease,” says Prof. Savas Tay, lead author of the study. “Finding existing drugs that have antiviral properties can be an essential part of treating these diseases.”

Effective against mutant strains and other viruses

To test the drug in an animal model, scientists collaborated with colleagues at the University of Louisville. It was discovered that the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 and the levels of inflammatory cytokine in mice were reduced by more than 99 percent.

Simultaneously, researchers began testing the medication on cell cultures against other viruses, discovering that it was equally powerful against Picornaviruses like hepatitis A, polio, and rhinoviruses that cause the common cold.

Using cell cultures, they also tried it out against the coronavirus alpha, beta, and gamma mutations. They found that it worked the same way because it binds to the enzyme that breaks down proteins rather than to the virus’s outside surface.

The scientific team is now working with the pharmaceutical company that created the medicine to improve it and make it even more successful. Meanwhile, masitinib itself may be tested in human clinical trials in the future to determine whether it may be utilized as a therapy for COVID-19.

“Masitinib has the potential to be an effective antiviral now, especially when someone is first infected and the antiviral properties of the drug will have the biggest effect,” added Nir Drayman, one of the authors of the study. “This isn’t the first novel coronavirus outbreak, and it’s not going to be the last. In addition to vaccines, we need to have new treatments available to help those who have been infected.”

Source: 10.1126/science.abg5827

Image Credit: Getty

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