Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has claimed the lives of millions of people worldwide since it first emerged. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health and the global economy has highlighted the medical need for the development of broadly acting interventions against emerging viral threats. Galidesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral compound with demonstrated in vitro and in vivo efficacy against several RNA viruses of public health concern, including those causing yellow fever, Ebola, Marburg, and Rift Valley fever. In vitro studies have shown that the antiviral activity of galidesivir also extends to coronaviruses. Herein, we describe the efficacy of galidesivir in the Syrian golden hamster model of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Treatment with galidesivir reduced lung pathology in infected animals compared with untreated controls when treatment was initiated 24 h prior to infection. These results add to the evidence of the applicability of galidesivir as a potential medical intervention for a range of acute viral illnesses, including coronaviruses.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving global health emergency that has claimed the lives of more than 5 million people worldwide since it first emerged in December 2019 [1]
In October 2020, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 based on evidence of faster recovery times over 10 days of treatment with remdesivir compared with placebo or standard of care in phase III trials [3]
Galidesivir was found to be active in SARS-CoV-2 infected Caco-2 and Vero-76 cells as assessed by viral yield reduction (VYR) assay, with low EC90 values for both cell lines and favorable selectivity index (SI) values (Table 1)
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving global health emergency that has claimed the lives of more than 5 million people worldwide since it first emerged in December 2019 [1]. The global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has emphasized the need to develop broadly acting antivirals effective against emerging viral diseases. In October 2020, FDA approved it for use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 based on evidence of faster recovery times over 10 days of treatment with remdesivir compared with placebo or standard of care in phase III trials [3]. EUA was issued in November of the same year for two monoclonal antibody treatments for use in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 at risk of progressing to severe disease and/or hospitalization [4,5]. Molnupiravir and PF-07321332/ritonavir, have shown promising results in Phase II/III trials with 50% and 89% reductions, respectively, in COVID-19-related hospitalization or death among actively treated patients compared to placebo; these are being considered for EUA [6,7]
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