Treatment Candidates Said to Be More Effective Than Remdesivir

On the 15th, citizens visiting the COVID-19 screening clinic set up in the yard in front of Yeongdeungpo Public Health Center in Seoul are undergoing screening tests. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] As 'Remdesivir,' developed for Ebola treatment, has been granted emergency use authorization as a COVID-19 treatment in the United States, Japan, and other countries, research results revealing that there are drugs with even better efficacy have attracted attention. We have presented the research findings from the Korea Pasteur Institute in a Q&A format.

Which drugs have better efficacy than Remdesivir?

In addition to 'Nafamostat (mesylate),' a pancreatitis treatment, 'Digoxin,' used for heart failure treatment, showed approximately eight times higher efficacy than Remdesivir.

On the 15th, the institute announced that among about 3,000 drugs analyzed through cell culture experiments, these showed the strongest antiviral efficacy against the COVID-19 virus, which is about 600 times superior compared to Remdesivir, which has been granted emergency use authorization in the U.S. The research results were published on the preprint server 'bioRxiv' on the 12th (local time).

On the 14th, as the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) related to Itaewon clubs increases, citizens are lining up to get tested at a walk-through screening clinic set up in a public parking lot in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mo Honam munonam@

What is the efficacy of existing COVID-19 treatment candidates besides Remdesivir?

A notable point in this study is that, unlike previous studies using animal cells, it was conducted using human lung cells. This was done with acute lung diseases caused by COVID-19 in mind to enhance the suitability of treatment efficacy.

However, besides Remdesivir, drugs such as Kaletra (Lopinavir), an AIDS inhibitor, and 'Chloroquine,' used as a malaria treatment, showed significantly increased IC50 values. This means their efficacy decreased when tested on human lung cells.

Does '600 times higher efficacy' mean it is a COVID-19 treatment?

This study numerically compared the concentration (IC50) of drugs that inhibit COVID-19 infection by 50%. IC50 is a common method to compare and evaluate antiviral activity at the cellular level. Under the same experimental conditions, the drug that inhibits the virus at the lowest concentration is considered the most effective.

In this study, Nafamostat corresponds to this. Remdesivir showed a similar effect at a concentration 600 times higher than Nafamostat. Digoxin required a concentration eight times higher.

However, these results do not mean the drugs can be immediately used as treatments. The institute stated, "Efficacy at the cellular level does not imply clinical efficacy. We hope efficacy will be confirmed through domestic and international clinical trials."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.