Existing Drug Fenofibrate Proves Its Efficacy Against COVID-19

Lung damage in COVID-19 patients can be treated using an existing drug Fenofibrate as presented at SPARK Conference on Generic Drug Repurposing for COVID-19 by Professor Yaakov Nahmias, Director of the Center for Bioengineering at Hebrew University. The study resuming its course in July 2020 shows that SARS-CoV-2 virus is capable of inhibiting the effective breakdown of fat within the lungs, as demonstrated by initial lab-based results and new data from 1,500 Israel-based Corona patients.

The Repurposed Drug

The efficacy of Fenofibrate (Tricor), an FDA approved drug in the market since 1975 is used in treating high levels of triglycerides (fats) in the blood. The drug is believed to be repurposed for addressing the fat build-up in coronavirus positive patients which would in turn help stop the progression of the disease.

It was observed that patients who took the drugs to speed up the breakdown of fats were recovering from the Corona-caused lung infections in a matter of days with zero mortality rates.

Clinical studies are scheduled to begin soon at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, Israel, joining other clinical centres across the United States, South America and Europe.

"We showed that the human lungs responded to the SARS-CoV-2 virus by completely changing their metabolism, causing a major build-up of fats in lung cells. Our findings show that this unhealthy fat build-up is a critical factor in COVID-19 patient's deterioration. Patients taking fibrates that work directly to breakdown fats recovered fast from the disease, while those taking medications that build fats like thiazolidinediones, showed greater lung damage and mortality," says Professor Nahmias.

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The study thereby affirms that the use of this widely available established drug, is inexpensive and could prove a therapeutic efficacy against devastating COVID-19.

Source-Medindia