A study led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has identified a compound, berzosertib, which showed potential in treating SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19.
The study was conducted by researchers from the UCLA as well as other universities in California, Delaware and German along with German pharmaceutical company Merck.
Licenced by Merck, berzosertib is now beingexamined in separate early- and mid-stage clinical trials together with chemotherapy as a potential treatment for small-cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and other types of tumours.
UCLA noted that the in many experiments performed using different types of cells in lab dishes, the researchers found that berzosertib was effective in blocking the coronavirus’s ability to replicate and did not harm the cells .
UCLA staff research associate Gustavo Garcia said: “Currently, there are no effective small-molecule drug therapies against COVID-19. This study identified a new potential therapy that could help the global fight against COVID-19 and support populations that have been disproportionately affected by this deadly disease.”
In finding potential treatment for Covid-19,the researchersaimed to block the coronavirus’s ability to use cellular proteins to replicate instead of attacking the virus directly.
Before selecting berzosertib as a suitable candidate, the researchers screened 430 drugs and identified 34 that showed at least some ability to halt the coronavirus.
The drugs were screened from among the approximately 200,000 compounds in CNSI’s Molecular Screening Shared Resource libraries.
In the investigations that took place in alaboratory at UCLA, the researchers foundthat berzosertib consistently stalled the coronavirus’s replication without damaging cells.
UCLA molecular and medical pharmacology and bioengineering professor Robert Damoiseaux said: “Kinase inhibitors are very frequently standalone cancer treatments, and not all single-agent kinase inhibitors are well tolerated.
“By contrast, berzosertib is not a standalone treatment and has very limited effects on cell health when used on its own.
“It may be worthwhile for researchers to run clinical trials to find out whether cancer patients in particular might profit from this drug as a Covid-19 treatment.”