Medical News: A new study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology showed that a common antifungal drug and an antidepressant can effectively inhibit COVID-19 virus.
Researchers performed cell culture lab tests and found that two currently available medications – antifungal itraconazole and the antidepressant fluoxetine – each blocked the production of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the laboratory cells.
The investigators further used each drug in combination with antiviral drug remdesiver (an inhibitor of viral RNA polymerase), which resulted in synergistic effects and inhibited the production of infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles by more than 90%.
The research has important implications in preventive vaccination and developing therapeutic medicines against COVID-19 according to the senior author of the study. No doubt pandemic has created havoc across the world and keeping in mind emerging zoonotic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, it is necessary to quickly develop drugs to combat future pandemics.
To Know More, You May Refer To:
Schloer, S., Brunotte, L., Mecate‐Zambrano, A., Zheng, S., Tang, J., Ludwig, S., & Rescher, U. (2021). Drug synergy of combinatory treatment with remdesivir and the repurposed drugs fluoxetine and itraconazole effectively impairs SARS‐Cov‐2 infection in vitro. British Journal of Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15418.
