Science tries again: a new drug would be being tested to combat the Covid. In these months of pandemic and hope with vaccines being distributed, even research does not stop. And indeed try to take steps forward for treatment. In fact, there are several studies launched on possible drugs to be used against the Coronavirus. This time the attempt is from a Chinese research, which uses a drug generally used for cancer patients. But the scientific community is still skeptical.
Chemotherapy drug and the Chinese study
According to this research it would have been tested the use of pralatrexate, a chemotherapy drug. Generally used for the treatment of T-cell lymphomas. According to this study, the use of this drug has been shown to be able to block the replication of Covid. Furthermore, the inhibitory activity is said to be stronger than the antiviral remdesivir. The latter, in fact, used in the past to combat Ebola. Until now it was considered the only drug also against Covid. The research on the use of pralatrexate published in the journal Plos Computation Biology by researchers of the Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT).
Research on the use of the drug tested
The screening procedure made it possible to identify the molecules capable of targeting Sars-Cov-2 RNA polymerase. This viral protein after infection leads to the copy of the genetic material of the virus and thus to its replication. Therefore pralatrexate would be able "effectively inhibit Sars-Cov-2 replication". For researchers "pralatrexate is a folate analogue metabolic inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoma". "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - they add however- granted authorization in 2009 despite its toxicity, therefore we must be aware that approval by the FDA does not guarantee the possibility of immediate use of the drug against Covid-19".
The drug agency is skeptical of its use
But the opinions in favor of this drug are not positive for the moment. In fact, even the EMA, the European Medicines Agency in recent years had not considered its experimentation sufficient and therefore its real benefit. Among the side effects due to the use of pralatrexate are fatigue, nausea and mucositis. "Our studio - argue the researchers - found that pralatrexate is able to potently inhibit Sars-Cov-2 replication with stronger inhibitory activity than Remdesivir, under the same experimental conditions". "Identify effective drugs capable of treating Covid-19 - say - it is important and urgent, especially approved drugs that can be immediately tested in clinical trials".
Factors supporting the pralatrexate hypothesis
But for researchers, the path taken is the right one. In fact, in the experimentation the best four drugs were identified to be tested in laboratory experiments. Two of them, pralatrexate and azithromycin, successfully inhibited the replication of the virus.
Pending new studies, therefore, in the meantime this could be the right path for adequate care of infected patients.
