Drug synergy of combinatory treatment with remdesivir and the repurposed drugs fluoxetine and itraconazole effectively impairs SARS‐CoV‐2 coronavirus infection in vitro

Coronavirus, Health, Remdesivir, Science, Testing, Treatment
Both itraconazole–remdesivir and fluoxetine–remdesivir combinations inhibited the production of infectious SARS‐CoV‐2 particles > 90%
We tested the antiviral potential of the antifungal itraconazole and the antidepressant fluoxetine on the production of infectious SARS‐CoV‐2 particles in the polarized Calu‐3 cell culture model and evaluated the added benefit of a combinatory use of these host‐directed drugs with the direct acting antiviral remdesivir, an inhibitor of viral RNA polymerase. 
Drug treatments were well‐tolerated and potently impaired viral replication. Importantly, both itraconazole–remdesivir and fluoxetine–remdesivir combinations inhibited the production of infectious SARS‐CoV‐2 particles > 90% and displayed synergistic effects, as determined in commonly used reference models for drug
interaction.
 
Wiley.com report
 

 

 

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

** This post was originally published on April 11, 2021 **