Especially the high risk for Courses of severe disease And the long-term damage to health is what makes COVID-19 such a dangerous disease. To date, there are only a few specific treatment options at the drug level: in the vast majority of cases, doctors have no choice but to relieve symptoms as much as possible. Experts from MedUni Vienna have now contributed to the development of a drug that can prevent the serious lung damage associated with Corona. This increases hope for one A new treatment option With COVID-19.
There are no alternatives to Regeneron
at the same time Various Coronavirus vaccines Used to help fight and contain the epidemic in all areas. However, when it comes to administering medications that target the pathogen SARS-CoV-2, clinicians face a relatively small group. The only COVID medicine currently available in Germany is Combination of antibodies By Regeneron: Antibodies are given from the blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 to patients using blood plasma. This should support regular treatment to relieve symptoms.
RNA-based liquid spray?
Now the English-language journal “European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology” Published a studyResearchers from the Medical University of Vienna presented a new drug to treat COVID-19. The drug has been tested so far on an animal model, and according to the study leader Dr. Rudolph Valenta is currently in clinical phase 2, and he is a similar fluid Asthma spray It can be inhaled “, as stated in a press release issued by MedUni Vienna. Since the half-life of the spray is less than 60 minutes, it must be used several times a day. For the specific formulation of the drug, the experts have combined RNA with the carrier peptide (molecule Made of amino acids), which allows the active ingredient to be introduced into infected cells.According to doctors, the protective mechanism embedded in RNA prevents the immediate breakdown of the drug in the body.
Relief for patients and intensive care units
The idea of designing an RNA-based drug can be traced back to researchers Craig Mello and Andrew Fire: Together they discovered what is called RNA interference and won a Nobel Prize for it in 2006. RNAi is a natural mechanism that works in eukaryotes (cells with a cellular nucleus) For all living organisms and works to disable the target genes. The active component of the new drug, created on the basis of this principle, performed well in the results of the preliminary study: everything indicated that it Serious lung damage It prevents the development of tragic disease. Patients in intensive care units may not have to rely on ventilators as a result of taking the medication.