Despite the development of several vaccines to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has overwhelmed humanity for over a year and claimed more than 3 million lives globally, the mysterious virus continues to claim more lives and has infected millions. This is especially concerning, as vaccines are not 100% effective, and some individuals cannot receive them due to health issues. Additionally, new variants of the virus have emerged, highlighting the urgent need for effective antiviral treatments.
In response to this need, a team of researchers from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, Oxford University in the UK, and Indiana University in the USA has launched a collaborative project aimed at finding a treatment for COVID-19.
**Removing the Virus from Patients' Lungs in Less Than 4 to 9 Days**
In an exciting development announced on June 4, in the latest issue of the journal "iScience," researchers found two drugs that offer inhibitory efficacy against the novel coronavirus: "Sefaranthine," used to treat inflammation, and "Nelfinavir," approved for treating HIV/AIDS. Sefaranthine prevents the virus from entering cells by inhibiting its ability to bind to a protein on the cell membrane, which the virus uses as an entry point. In contrast, Nelfinavir works by preventing the virus from replicating within the cell by inhibiting a protein the virus relies on for replication.
Given that these two drugs have distinct antiviral mechanisms, their combined use could be particularly effective for patients, with computational models predicting that the combination treatment of "Sefaranthine - Nelfinavir" could expedite the removal of the virus from patients' lungs in less than 4 to 9 days.
**Not Ready Yet!**
However, this dual therapy is not yet available in healthcare systems. The results obtained underscore the need for further research into the clinical potential of "Sefaranthine - Nelfinavir," and only after that can we say with certainty that it is beneficial.
Given the ongoing nature of the pandemic and the continuously rising death toll, researchers emphasize that developing the "Sefaranthine - Nelfinavir" treatment could provide doctors and patients with a new option they desperately need.
Since the World Health Organization reported the disease's onset in China at the end of December 2019, COVID-19 has caused the deaths of over 3.73 million people worldwide, according to a count conducted by AFP based on official sources as of Sunday. More than 173 million individuals have been confirmed infected since the virus emerged, and the vast majority of those infected have recovered, although some continue to experience symptoms weeks or even months later.
