The French foundation, devoted to the study of diseases, vaccines and microorganisms since 1887, has been carrying out research on Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic. A recent discovery gives scientists a lot of hope.
The Institut Pasteur de Lille is moving forward in its fight against Covid-19
Since March 2019, the Lille organization has been deploying human and material resources to try to better understand the Sars-Cov-2 virus in order to contain the epidemic. To do this, it mobilized a team called “Task Force”, made up of researchers from different laboratories. This group of scientists is solely dedicated to finding a cure for Covid-19 disease. They are focusing their efforts on rapidly identifying drugs that can block the virus from among those that already exist and are available around the world. The advantage of their method lies in the fact that the molecules are already approved and placed on the pharmaceutical market. It is therefore a considerable saving of time.
How was the molecule selected?
The Institut Pasteur de Lille works in collaboration with a start-up called Apteeus. This biotech is an expert in drug research and discovery. Its particularity is that it develops with precision the treatments whose molecules are already approved in humans. Thus, researchers already have precise knowledge about the components. In summary, they analyze drugs intended for a disease, to try to find out if they can fight against other infections: “to identify drugs that are more effective and better tolerated than those currently being tested”. The researchers tested nearly 2,000 molecules and observed their reaction against the virus. One of them is “active against the coronavirus. We tested it on human lung cells and the results turned out to be very promising ”, according to Prof. Benoît Déprez, scientific director of the Institut Pasteur de Lille (IPL).
A secret anti-viral
It is an anti-viral therefore the first trials on humans are scheduled for the end of 2020. The researchers will be “extremely rigorous” and respect all the stages. The treatment would have few or no side effects. It would also be easy to take, requiring no needling or help from the nursing staff. Taking the drug during the first symptoms will reduce the viral load in the body and thus prevent contagion. If caught later, it would oppose the development of severe forms of Covid-19. For now, the name of the molecule remains secret, to avoid any shortage of stock and risk of “frenzy”. However, the hope is high, because if the trials are conclusive, the treatment will be available “early 2021”.
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