FDA-approved drugs could help fight COVID-19

Published on: April 30, 2020 By: Christen Brownlee

Black and white blobs with blue dots inside of it — Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. The spherical viral particles, colorized blue, contain cross-section through the viral genome, seen as black dots.

Drugs already approved for other uses could hold promise in fighting COVID-19, according to computer modeling studies done by UT Southwestern scientists. The findings, published recently on a pre-print server known as ChemRxiv prior to peer review, could open new avenues for treating patients with this often serious respiratory condition.

Since it appeared in late 2019, COVID-19, caused by a novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, had infected more than 1.9 million patients and killed more than 130,000 worldwide as of April 16. Although several ongoing efforts exist to develop effective treatment regimens and vaccines, there are currently no clear therapeutic strategies or preventive treatments.

Visit the UT Southwestern Newsroom to read the full story.