Effect of COVID-19 Antiviral Remdesivir Multiplied 10-Fold by Hepatitis C Drugs Effect of COVID-19 Antiviral Remdesivir Multiplied 10-Fold by Hepatitis C Drugs
Drugs used to treat hepatitis C render remdesivir 10 times better at inhibiting the coronavirus in cell cultures. [Jenna Luecke/University of Texas at Austin]
April 27, 2021
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Remdesivir, the only antiviral drug approved in the United States for treating COVID-19 patients, is up to 10 times more effective when it is mixed with a repurposed hepatitis C drug. The effect has been observed with several hepatitis C drugs namely, simeprevir, grazoprevir, paritaprevir, and vaniprevir. All four appear to have the same remdesivir-boosting mechanism: inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PL