This Ebola Drug Can Be The Actual Cure To Save Mankind From The CO.VID-19 Pandemic

Dhir Acharya - Apr 15, 2020

Remdesivir is known as an Ebola drug. But a new study has proven that the drug works effectively against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing CO.VID-19.

According to scientists from the University of Alberta, the drug remdesivir has shown high effectiveness in stopping the replication mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the CO.VID-19 pandemic.

The paper, published two days ago, follows closely on the lab’s previous research that illustrated how the drug worked against MERS, another virus from the same coronavirus family.

Remdesivir, developed in 2014, is an Ebola drug

The chair of the university’s medical microbiology and immunology, Matthias Götte, the drug produced almost the same results with SARS-CoV-2 as with MERS, meaning remdesivir can potentially be the effective inhibitor for SARS-CoV-2 polymerases.

The new paper details how the drug work, which was previously developed to fight Ebola. He compares the polymerase with the virus’ engine, which synthesizes the genome of the virus. He said that by targeting the polymerase, we can’t stop the spread of the virus, making it the right target to aim at.

The work illustrates how the drug tricks SARS-CoV-2 by mimicking its building blocks. Götte explained:

“These coronavirus polymerases are sloppy and they get fooled, so the inhibitor gets incorporated many times and the virus can no longer replicate.”

From the lab’s evidence, and previous studies in the animal as well as cell culture models, remdesivir can be categorized as a direct-acting antiviral for SARS-CoV-2. Direct-acting antiviral include newer antiviral classes that interfere in certain steps of the life cycle of the hepatitis C virus.

Götte’s study further supports clinical trials for the drug in patients infected with CO.VID-19.

However, Götte warned that the lab results can’t be used for predicting how remdesivir will work in human patients, saying that we need randomized clinical trials to be certain.

Remdesivir is among the drugs that WHO fast-tracked into trials, with which the organization compared potential treatments in CO.VID-19 patients in over 10 countries. Götte said that results from critical clinical trials may come as early as this or next month.