Don’t Miss Out on the Latest Updates.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter Today!
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a halt in a matter of three months. Globally, 4,65,000 COVID-19 cases have been identified and the death toll is above 21,000, according to the World health Organization. In India, the Ministry of Health and Welfare figures reveal that there are 633 active cases (excluding deaths, cured and migrated cases). The whole world is reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic, striving hard to fight back by staying home, washing hands frequently, using face masks, so on and so forth. But unfortunately, there is no drug or vaccine available to protect you against COVID-19.
However, significant number of pharma companies, research bodies and WHO are toiling hard to find medicines and immunization to tame the virus. In the absence of new drugs, WHO has launched it SOLIDARITY trial, an initiative to find out if the existing drugs, used for other diseases, can be repurposed to treat coronavirus. The drugs WHO is considering include, remdesivir, a combination of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, iopinavir and ritonavir, a combination of two HIV drugs, and a combination of lopinavir, ritonavir and interferon-beta, an immune system messenger. It can tame viruses and regulate inflammation.
An international team, including scientists of Indian origin, has identified 69 drugs and experimental compounds which may be effective in treating COVID-19. These include the ones that are currently used for type II diabetes, cancer, and hypertension
For the study, the researchers studied human proteins that interact with the SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins. They found that there are 332 human proteins which the viral proteins network with. According to the researchers, these are the proteins that the COVID-19 virus relies on to reproduce and carry out the infection in people. The experts further explain that some viral proteins are capable of interacting with almost 12 human cell proteins, while the rest confine them to just one.
This team of researchers have identified 69 drugs to tackle these notorious set of proteins. Out of these, 25 have already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for using off-label.
With inputs from PTI.