FDA-approved drug could be used to treat Ebola, study shows
pharmafile | August 12, 2019 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Ebolas, FDA, Romark, nitazoxanide, pharma, virus
The FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug nitazoxanide could be used as a treatment for Ebola, according to researchers from the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Nitazoxanide, which is currently used to treat gastrointestinal infections caused by parasites, enhances the immune system’s ability to detect Ebola and could thus be used to contain the deadly virus.
In a study published in the journal iScience, the researchers showed the drug boosts the immune system’s ability to detect and fight the Ebola virus, which is particularly tricky to tackle due to its ability to evade and block immune responses.
Dr Anne Goldfeld, explained: “Ebola masks RIG-I and PKR, so that cells don’t perceive that Ebola is inside. This lets Ebola get a foothold in the cell and race ahead of the immune response. What we’ve been able to do is enhance the host viral detection response with NTZ. It’s a new path in treating Ebola.”
The study offers hope for the potential for a new treatment for Ebola which now threatens to spill from the Congo into Rwanda.
“Currently, there is no easily deployable therapy for Ebola virus. There are some very promising vaccines, but there is no oral, inexpensive medication available,” Goldfeld said.
Nitazoxanide was first discovered by Franco-American scientist Jean-François Rossignol at the Pasteur Institute in the 1980s. It was subsequently developed by Rossignol’s own company Romark.
Louis Goss
Related Content
MRM Health’s ulcerative colitis treatment receives FDA Investigational New Drug clearance
Microbial Resource Management (MRM) Health has announced that its lead programme, MH002, has received Investigational …
Complement Therapeutics’ geographic atrophy treatment receives FDA Fast Track designation
Complement Therapeutics has announced that CTx001, its gene therapy treatment for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary …
Johnson & Johnson submits robotic surgical system for De Novo classification
Johnson & Johnson has announced the submission of its Ottava Robotic Surgical System for De …
