Two Australian researchers have claimed that a couple of existing drugs could ‘cure’ coronavirus after patients they tested responded ‘very well’ to treatment. According to the scientists, drugs used to treat HIV and malaria could also be used to tackle COVID-19.
The team of infectious disease experts at the University of Queensland in Brisbane said they have seen two existing medications manage to wipe out coronavirus infections.
Chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, and HIV-suppressing combination lopinavir/ritonavir – often sold under brand name ‘Kaletra’ have both shown promising results in human tests and made the virus ‘disappear’ in infected patients, the researchers claimed.
This ability of Kaletra to stop a virus from reproducing and infecting new cells is believed to be what apparently makes it an effective treatment for COVID-19.
Chloroquine, on the other hand, works in a different way. It does not cure malaria but stops it from developing by poisoning parasites and preventing them from growing inside human red blood cells. It has also been found to be able to destroy viruses, the researchers claimed.
The drugs are being tested further as researchers and doctors around the world gasps to try and find a vaccine, cure or treatment for the deadly virus. Professor David Paterson from the university said he hopes to enrol people in larger-scale pharmaceutical trials by the end of this month.
“It wouldn’t be wrong to consider the drugs a possible treatment or cure for the deadly respiratory infection. Patients would end up with no viable coronavirus in their system at all after the end of the therapy. It’s a potentially effective treatment,” he added.
Although the treatment has proven effective in several cases, there hasn’t been any controlled testing needed to certify a new drug, the professor said.