UCLA researchers in the School of Medicine’s department of Infectious Disease have identified a novel therapeutic approach that can supplement existing FDA approved treatments for SARS-CoV2-2 infections to provide robust treatments against morbidity.
BACKGROUND:
The World Health Organization reports that as of June 2023, there have been over 767 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. This has resulted in over 6.9 million deaths worldwide. There have been numerous efforts to prevent and treat COVID-19 infections, such as vaccines and antiviral medications. The Center for Disease Control reported that in January 2023 alone, adults who received the COVID-19 vaccine treatment with the associated bivalent booster had a 10.9X lower risk of having a COVID-19 associated hospitalization. At-home oral treatments such as the antiviral Nirmatrelvir with Ritonavir (Paxlovid) have proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization for some patients, but researchers have found that a COVID-19 rebound is more common in patients treated with Paxlovid. Despite a worldwide need, there is no safe, efficacious oral antiviral that can be given long term for patients with prolonged virus shedding such as immunocompromised patients or even for post-acute COVID-19 condition. An accessible, safe and highly effective oral treatment for COVID-19 is needed.
INNOVATION:
Researchers at UCLA led by Dr. Theodoros Kelesidis have uncovered a novel COVID-19 therapy to inhibit viral replication, cytotoxic injury, aberrant host inflammatory responses and progression of lung injury. The researchers show evidence of favorable treatment outcomes for COVID-19 including efficacious targeting at multiple viral lifecycle stages, broad antiviral spectrum against different coronaviruses, safety, and the ability to target inflammation associated with COVID-19 infections. This novel finding can complement existing FDA approved treatments for coronavirus infections and positively impact COVID-19 patient prognosis.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
- Treatment of COVID-19
- Can be used in combination with medication already approved by the FDA
- Treatment of post-acute sequalae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC or Long COVID)
ADVANTAGES:
- Oral treatment
- Established safety in humans as long-term oral formulation
- Long-term use can potentially be useful for treatment of post-acute sequalae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC or Long COVID)
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Targets host cell machinery that the virus uses to replicate (and not the virus per se) and retains activity against several different SARS-CoV-2 variants and different coronaviruses
DEVELOPMENT TO DATE:
UCLA researchers have performed multiple analyses to prove that their novel finding is an effective oral treatment for coronavirus infections. Additionally, our researchers assessed the antiviral effect in a lung cell system in comparison to current FDA approved treatments, such as Paxlovid. This novel finding has been submitted for a patent.
Related Papers (from the inventors only)
Petcherski A, Sharma M, Daskou M, Vasilopoulos H, Hugo C, Ritou E, Dillon BJ, Fung E, Garcia G, Scafoglio C, Purkayastha A, Gomperts BN, Fishbein GA, Arumugaswami V, Liesa M, Shirihai OS, Kelesidis T. Mitoquinone mesylate targets SARS-CoV-2 infection in preclinical models. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2022 Jun 23:2022.02.22.481100. doi: 10.1101/2022.02.22.481100. PMID: 35233569; PMCID: PMC8887067.