According to a study, combining the antivirals Remdesivir or Molnupiravir with the investigational medication brequinar prevents the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, from reproducing in lung cells and animals. The findings, which were recently published in the journal Nature, imply that when these medications are taken together, they are more effective than when taken alone.
The researchers believe that the pharmacological combinations revealed in the study have the potential to become very promising COVID-19 therapies, even if they have not yet been tested in clinical trials.
"Identifying combinations of antivirals is incredibly essential, not only because it may boost the medications' potency against the coronavirus, but it also minimises the possibility of resistance," said Sara Cherry, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, who led the study.
According to the researchers, there is still an urgent need for treatments to treat COVID-19, which has been exacerbated by the threat of novel variations that may avoid immunizations.
They tested 18,000 medicines for antiviral efficacy in human respiratory cells infected with live SARS-CoV-2, because the virus's main target is the lungs. The researchers discovered 122 medicines with antiviral activity and selectivity against the coronavirus, including 16 nucleoside analogues, the most commonly used antiviral class.
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