A global breakthrough on a new antiviral drug that scientists believe could block the coronavirus has been made in Australia.
Monash University researchers have conducted extensive modelling of a new antiviral drug to show it has significant blocking ability against the virus that causes COVID-19.
Researchers hope the drug, which could be administered by an inhaler, might be available as early as the end of the year.
Scientists around the world have been trying to identify compounds that may interact with viral molecular targets, preventing infection or helping treat symptoms of the disease.
The global challenge has been an absence of a treatment against SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19.
Monash University senior research fellow Tom Karagiannis said there had been great interest in finding compounds that could interact with viral molecular targets. Dr Karagiannis and his team have tested the way a designer molecule called a-ketoamide blocks one of the proteins needed to replicate the virus that causes COVID-19.
After the 2002 SARS outbreak, German researchers designed compounds with broad spectrum anti-coronaviral activity called a-ketoamides. Last month, the same German researchers published new data on an improved version they said works more effectively in humans.
Dr Karagiannis and his colleagues then used a supercomputer to study the way the improved version blocks the triggering of the replication of the virus that causes COVID-19. They found that the molecule acts as a handbrake on the virus’s ability to replicate.
“This molecule stops the virus from replicating, which can then stop the release of new virus particles and infection of other cells in the body,” Dr Karagiannis said.
“Importantly, the study found that a-ketoamide binds to the active site in a stable way and over a long period, making it a potentially very useful protection against infection with the COVID-19 virus.
“A-ketoamide was initially developed for SARS and has been shown to work in many kinds of viruses, including coronaviruses, because the active site of these proteases is highly conserved.
“Currently, improvements are being made so that these molecules can be administered by inhalation to target the respiratory tract,” he told The Australian.
Dr Karagiannis has likened COVID-19 to a “really nasty cold”, coming from the same virus family.
The breakthrough comes as the worldwide search to find a vaccination for the virus continues, with China, the US and Britain among several countries in the race. US biotech company Moderna was the first to deliver a vaccine ready to be tested in humans.
Most vaccines that reach clinical trials do not go on to make it to market, however, which is why the drive to manufacture some form of treatment is becoming increasingly important as health experts warn of colossal deaths because of a second wave.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton on Sunday expressed deep concerns about the progress of the virus through the southern states in the US, South America, South Asia and parts of Europe.
In that light, comments by US President Donald Trump at the weekend stating that he would prefer to see less community testing for the coronavirus will send shockwaves through the US medical establishment.
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