In a laboratory test, dimethyl fumarate showed its ability to prevent virus replication.
- The drug made it possible to block the immune reaction, harmful to the patients.
- The number of coronavirus replications in human cells has drastically decreased.
It is a hope for the scientific community: a drug already authorized to treat patients with multiple sclerosis would be effective against the new coronavirus. Researchers from the University of Aarhus conducted a successful experiment on dimethyl fumarate, the results of which were published in the specialist journal type communications.
An old study
Christian Kanstrup Holm and David Olagnier are the two main authors of this research. Before the appearance of the new coronavirus, they were working on a new anti-viral drug, 4-octyl-itaconate, close to an already existing substance and which would be effective against herpes, zika and against multiple sclerosis. “Then the coronavirus appeared, so we tested it, and we found a strong effectemphasizes Christian Kanstrup Holm. The number of coronavirus replications in human cells has drastically decreased.” The drug also helped block the immune reaction, harmful to patients. “People are not just dying from the virus itself, adds the specialist, but also from the inflammation spreading to their lungs.”
The optimism of researchers
After the first tests carried out on 4-octyl-itaconate, the researchers tested dimethyl fumarate, because this drug is authorized by the health authorities: the results were also positive. “As we have done basic research, we don’t know if the drug works if a human is infected, it is the infectious disease experts who will do this test.explains Christian Kanstrup Holm. Nevertheless, I must say that I am very optimistic.” With his team, they hope that human trials can be carried out.
The Institut Pasteur de Lille on the way to a treatment
Since March 2020, the Institut Pasteur de Lille and the pharmaceutical company Apteeus have been collaborating to analyze nearly 2,000 molecules already authorized on the drug market. The objective is to find which one or which would be effective against Covid-19. At the end of September, researchers from the Institut Pasteur de Lille declared that they had found this molecule, but they are waiting for funding to be able to conduct a trial with enough participants.
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