FDA-Approved Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Could Reduce SARS-CoV-2’s Ability to Reproduce or Even Make it Disappear

A FDA-approved cholesterol-lowering drug could stop SARS-CoV-2 from controlling our metabolism and potentially downgrade COVID-19’s danger level to that of a common cold.

Research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel) and Mount Sinai Medical Center (Miami, FL, USA) has revealed that the FDA-approved drug Fenofibrate (Tricor) could reduce SARS-CoV-2’s ability to reproduce or even make it disappear. In a report by The Jerusalem Post, the researchers have explained that viruses are parasites and cannot replicate themselves or make new viruses, but need to enter a human cell and then hijack it. The research team which spent the last three months studying what SARS-CoC-2 is doing to human lung cells found that the novel coronavirus prevents the routine burning of carbohydrates, resulting in large amounts of fat accumulating inside lung cells - a condition required for the virus to reproduce.

The researchers believe that by understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 controls our metabolism, we can wrestle back control from the virus and deprive it from the very resources it needs to survive. A review of a panel of eight already approved drugs that could possibly interfere with the virus’s ability to reproduce revealed that Tricor caused the cells to start burning fat, resulting in the virus almost completely disappearing within only five days of treatment. According to the report, the experiment was conducted in lab studies both in Israel and New York and was replicated several times with different lung samples. The researchers are now advancing to animal studies in New York and hope to fast-track clinical studies in both Israel and the US within the next couple of weeks, as the drug is already proven to be safe.

Related Links:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Mount Sinai Medical Center