Existing drugsCould an Existing Drug Help against the New Coronavirus?
Perhaps no new drug against the novel coronavirus SARS CoV-2 needs to be found, as it is possible that existing active substances could help against the COVID-19 pathogen. Alexander Freund writes in Deutsche Welle that the advantages of using drugs that are already on the market are obvious: Not only is it cheaper to repurpose drugs that have already been approved or developed, but, above all, it is much faster because the lengthy clinical test phases can be shortened. Although at least 68 vaccine projects have been started worldwide, the German pharmaceutical association VfA believes that even if a suitable vaccine is found in 2020, mass vaccinations are unlikely to be carried out even in Germany this year. So the only alternatives are either further isolation for months or treatment with already existing or developed active substances.
Perhaps no new drug against the novel coronavirus SARS CoV-2 needs to be found, as it is possible that existing active substances could help against the COVID-19 pathogen. Alexander Freund writes in Deutsche Welle that the advantages of using drugs that are already on the market are obvious: Not only is it cheaper to repurpose drugs that have already been approved or developed, but, above all, it is much faster because the lengthy clinical test phases can be shortened. Although at least 68 vaccine projects have been started worldwide, the German pharmaceutical association VfA believes that even if a suitable vaccine is found in 2020, mass vaccinations are unlikely to be carried out even in Germany this year. So the only alternatives are either further isolation for months or treatment with already existing or developed active substances.
Among the different groups of drugs within which an effective treatment for COVID-19 may be found:
· Anti-viral drugs
· Immunomodulators are designed to limit the body’s defense reactions in such a way that the immune system does not overreact and cause additional life-threatening damage to the body.
· Drugs to protect the lungs
The ingredients in anti-malarial drugs have been looked at as promising in the fight against coronavirus. Drugs such as chloroquine; hydroxychloroquine, and Resochin — which was developed in the 1930s at the Bayer laboratories in Germany, and now being produced only in Pakistan – are now in trials.
Also, the active ingredients in various HIV, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and asthma drugs are also under consideration, among them: AbbVie, CytoDyn, and Regeneron.
