Human Organ Chips Shift Amodiaquine from Old Antimalarial to Promising COVID-19 Treatment
May 3, 2021
The ACE2 receptor protein (green), which the SARS-CoV-2 viruses uses to enter cells, is highly expressed on the surfaces of human airway cells grown in the Airway Chip. This faithful mimicking of human biology enables the study of how viruses interact with their hosts' cells. [Wyss Institute at Harvard University]
Share
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the pace of vaccine development has surpassed anyone’s wildest expectations. Unfortunately, drug development for treatments has not kept the same pace. Indeed, there are still very few effective treatments for COVID-19. Now, a collaboration between four research institutes has identified the antimalarial drug amodiaquine as a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 infection in human lung cells and in living preclinical models. This breakthrough helped secure the inclusion of amodiaquine in a COVID-19 clinical trial that is currently underway in 13 different countries in Africa where this drug is inexpensive and widely available.