Indian origin scientist identifies four possible drugs to treat Covid-19

Team Udayavani, May 18, 2020, 1:24 PM IST

An Indian-origin researcher in the US and his team have identified four antiviral drugs to treat Covid-19.

The study, published in the journal Pathogens, found that all four drugs were effective in inhibiting or blocking, the coronavirus’ RNA proteins from making genomic copies of the novel coronavirus.

Kamlendra Singh, an associate professor at the University of Missouri in the US, and his colleagues used computer-aided drug design to examine the effectiveness of remdesivir, 5-fluorouracil, ribavirin and favipiravir in treating Covid-19

Researchers claim that the drugs, if they turn out to be effective might have some limitations. But they are worth taking a deeper look as these drugs could potentially be effective in treating Covid-19

The researchers also noted that SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19, like all viruses, can mutate and develop resistance to antiviral drugs. It is said that, the drugs need to be further tested in a laboratory setting and in patients is evaluate how the proposed treatments interact with the virus’ RNA polymerase.