A Global Study Led by CU Medicine and HKUMed Discovers a Hepatitis C Virus Drug as Potent Treatment for COVID-19
A recent global study led by researchers from CU Medicine and HKUMed has discovered a hepatitis C virus drug “simeprevir” as a potent treatment for COVID-19, which can strongly suppress the replication of SARS-CoV-2. The combination of this drug with remdesivir can result in drug synergism and generate an even more effective outcome.
(From right) Professor David Shu Cheong HUI, Stanley Ho Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Professor Billy Wai Lung NG, Assistant Professor of the School of Pharmacy at CU Medicine; Associate Professor Dr. Michael Chi Wai CHAN and Research Assistant Professor Dr. Kenrie Pui Yan HUI of the School of Public Health at HKUMed.
Simeprevir targets two SARS-CoV-2 proteins
Since the beginning of 2020, Professor Billy Wai Lung NG from CU Medicine and Dr Michael Chi Wai CHAN from HKUMed have collaborated with over 30 scientists from local and overseas laboratories (including the Mainland, the U.S., France, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan) to search for an effective drug molecule for the treatment of COVID-19. Using a combination of biochemistry, cell biology and computational chemistry techniques, the team tested a number of antiviral drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a cellular infection model. They discovered simeprevir can simultaneously target two major viral proteins that are critical to viral replication, which are main protease Mpro and RNA polymerase. Simeprevir is by now the only antiviral drug that can target more than one SARS-CoV-2 protein.
Professor Billy Wai Lung NG, Assistant Professor of the School of Pharmacy at CU Medicine elaborated, “Simeprevir is an antiviral agent used for the treatment of hepatitis C by inhibiting the activity of viral protease so as to suppress viral replication. Though the drug has already been replaced by other treatment methods for hepatitis C patients, repurposing existing FDA-approved therapeutic agents can shorten the time frame for clinical trials and may reveal new drug targets that can be further exploited. This is indeed a very promising and encouraging discovery. Besides, the chance that the virus develops simultaneous mutations on both of the two viral proteins main protease Mpro and RNA polymerase is low, thus there is less chance to develop drug-resistant mutants.”
Drug combination enhances therapeutic potential
While remdesivir is effective, it only targets one major viral protein, meaning that remdesivir-resistant viral mutants may emerge. The drug also suffers from drawbacks such as low efficacy against severely ill patients.
Dr. Michael Chi Wai CHAN, Associate Professor of the School of Public Health from HKUMed said, “We evaluated the antiviral effect of simeprevir together with remdesivir, and were delighted to observe drug synergism. The viral infection experiments performed at the P3 laboratory in HKUMed demonstrated that with 3.3 μMof remdesivir and simeprevir, the antiviral effect was increased over 100-fold when compared with remdesivir alone.”
Professor Ng added, “This not only implies a larger therapeutic window for simeprevir, but also provides mechanistic insights into the interplay between the drugs, giving rise to additional pathways into fighting the virus. Science has no borders. This highly collaborative and interdisciplinary project has shown that the team spirit, determination, and persistence of the researchers are keys to important scientific discovery.”
Professor David Shu Cheong HUI, Stanley Ho Professor of Respiratory Medicine at CU Medicine said, “With the development of new vaccines around the world, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, the virus remains rampant, with high infection rates in many countries. Recent research studies suggest that the existing vaccines and drugs may not be able to combat the emerging mutants of the virus effectively. Moreover, the recurring coronavirus epidemics in the last two decades suggest that the virus may become a persistent healthcare issue threatening global health. It is therefore essential to enlarge our therapeutic box in preparation for future coronavirus pandemics.”
Professor Billy NG says the findings on simeprevir provides mechanistic insights into the interplay between simeprevir and remdesivir, giving rise to additional pathways into fighting the virus.
Dr. Michael CHAN says the research team has started animal model study and hoping for a preliminary result in six months.
Professor David HUI says if simeprevir is proved to be effective in suppressing of SAR-CoV-2 in clinical trial, the combination of it with remdesivir may shorten the treatment time and encourage further investigation on death rate and other potential benefits.
