Much of the world is on hold until scientists find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has, so far, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. However, with current estimates suggesting that a vaccine is 12-18 months away, many people are placing increasing hope on an effective treatment for COVID-19. For this reason, people have been eagerly awaiting news on Gilead's experimental Ebola drug remdesivir, after former World Health Organization (WHO) Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward described it as the only drug that the organization consider to have real efficacy. The scientists analyzed the coronavirus protease in detail to help them identify compounds that target a critical part of its structure. Beginning with a starting material that is available from commercial suppliers, they performed a series of synthesis steps to create two lead compounds named 11a and 11b. The scientists found that both compounds were good inhibitors of the enzyme, achieving 100% and 96% inhibition activity, respectively. According to the reported results, this is a highly promising compound. What is more, because there is no human equivalent to the enzyme that it targets, the drug is unlikely to cause serious side effects in people. The researchers say that preclinical research on the compound is continuing. They are also sharing their data with scientists around the world to help accelerate the development of the treatment.
(credits: www.medicalnewstoday.com)
