Repurposed anti-protozoal drug emetine effective against Covid: Indian scientists
Wed, Dec 16 2020 06:37:46 PM
By Aakanksha Khajuria
New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): Scientists at the Haryana-based National Centre for Veterinary Type Cultures of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have found that emetine, an anti-protozoal drug, can be repurposed to treat Covid-19.
Emetine is an FDA-approved drug which is used to treat amebiasis, a parasitic disease. Besides, it is also used to induce vomiting in the cases of poisoning. A team led by senior scientist Dr Naveen Kumar identified Emetine as one of the candidate drugs.
Dr Naveen told IANS, "In initial cell culture-based study, emetine treatment was shown to decrease 10,000-fold viral titers in vero cells. Further, scientists explored the molecular mechanism of action of emetine against SARS-CoV-2. It was demonstrated that emetine interferes with the synthesis of viral proteins without inducing any toxicity to the host cells."