Ritonavir News and Research

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Ritonavir, also known as Norvir, is a type of medicine called a protease inhibitor (PI). PIs act by blocking protease, a protein that HIV needs to make more copies of itself. Ritonavir was approved by the FDA on March 1, 1996, for use with other antiretroviral agents in the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children 2 years of age or older. Ritonavir is now approved with other anti-HIV drugs in the treatment of HIV-1 infection in children in individuals over 1 month in age. Studies have shown that ritonavir works as a booster for some other PIs. Taking ritonavir makes it possible to take a lower dose of the other PIs. This medicine does not cure or prevent HIV infection or AIDS and does not reduce the risk of passing the virus to other people.

Cyperus rotundus medicinal plant shows promise for novel COVID-19 therapeutics

Cyperus rotundus is a plant with a history as herbal medicine, containing many chemical substances frequently found to be drug-like in character: flavonoids, terpenoids, and the like. Compounds sourced from the plant have demonstrated some inhibitory activity against HIV by modulation of the CYP3A4 enzyme, and thus in a drug lead discovery effort, Kumar et al. (July 2021) computationally screened these natural compounds against MPRO in a paper recently published to Computers in Biology and Medicine.

9 Jun 2021

Are COVID-19 medications safe in pregnancy?

Most medications being tested today in clinical trials for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been repurposed from other indications. These are typically not tested in pregnant women. A new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, summarizes what is known about the safety of these drugs in this group.

24 May 2021

Facets of SARS-CoV-2 infection and animal models

A new study in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology discusses the ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome of the virus, and the mechanisms by which it establishes infection within the host cell. The researchers also summarize the development of animal models of COVID-19, which will both help understand the clinical features of the illness, and indicate new approaches for the treatment of the infection.

21 May 2021

ANTICOV clinical trial to test new treatment for people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in Africa

The ANTICOV clinical trial, conducted in 13 African countries, has started the recruitment of participants to test a new drug combination, nitazoxanide + ciclesonide, to treat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 before their cases become severe.

27 Apr 2021

COVID-19 pandemic and nanotechnology

Writing in the International Journal of Nanomedicine, Professor Dongki Yang, from the Department of Physiology, Gachon University, South Korea, has reviewed the available knowledge on the coronaviruses, current approaches to tackle the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the innovative application of nanotechnology in the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 Feb 2021

Researchers identify natural products with potential to disrupt viral spread

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have broken down the genomic and life history traits of three classes of viruses that have caused endemic and global pandemics in the past and identify natural products - compounds produced in nature - with the potential to disrupt their spread.

5 Jan 2021

Azithromycin trial fails to provide evidence of benefit in COVID-19

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, azithromycin was regarded as being a potentially highly effective drug against the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2.

16 Dec 2020

Copper gluconate supplementation could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro

The second wave of COVID-19 has affected many countries, costing thousands of lives and dealing further heavy blows to already reeling economies.

16 Dec 2020

Favipiravir does not attenuate the progression of COVID-19

Scientists have conducted an observational study to evaluate the efficacy of an anti-influenza medicine favipiravir in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

11 Dec 2020

Researchers use AI platform to identify best combination of available therapies against COVID-19.

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has utilized a ground-breaking artificial intelligence (AI) platform to derive an optimal combination of available therapies against SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19.

11 Dec 2020

Using AI to find optimal combination of available therapies against SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has utilized a ground-breaking artificial intelligence (AI) platform to derive an optimal combination of available therapies against SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19.

10 Dec 2020

New insight into role of autophagy in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of researchers at the University of Manitoba in Canada said that nanoparticle targeting of autophagy at the sites could be a potent tool to effectively overcome COVID-19 while preventing the common adverse effects of the drug.

2 Dec 2020

Pharmacophore model helps find key protease inhibitor responsible for COVID-19

A team of San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) researchers recently created a pharmacophore model and conducted data mining of the database of drugs approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to find potential inhibitors of papain-like protease of SARS-CoV2, one of the main viral proteins responsible for COVID-19.

2 Dec 2020

Chinese woman still sheds SARS-CoV-2 over four months post-infection

A new study by Chinese scientists explore an unusual case of extended viral shedding in a 68-year-old woman up to four months post-infection.

1 Dec 2020

Nucleic acid-hydrolyzing scFv 3D8 exhibits potent antiviral effects on SARS-CoV-2

3D8, a 27-kDa recombinant antibody fragment, was found in autoimmune-prone Murphy Roths Large mice. The single-chain variable fragment (scFv) has the nucleic acid hydrolyzing activity and is shown to degrade DNA or mRNA of viruses in infected cells.

30 Nov 2020

Largest clinical trial launched to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients in Africa

Thirteen African countries and an international network of research institutions have joined forces to launch the largest COVID-19 clinical trial in mild-to-moderate outpatients in Africa.

24 Nov 2020

Control trial proves effectiveness of repurposed drugs for COVID-19 treatment

In just six months, the world's largest randomized control trial on COVID-19 therapeutics has generated conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of repurposed drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.

16 Oct 2020

Lopinavir-ritonavir does not suppress SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro

Among them is the combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, which have been in use in an attempt to reduce the severity of the disease. However, a new South Korean study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 shows that this combination is ineffective against the virus.

20 Sep 2020

Identifying, preventing and treating drug-induced arrhythmias

Health care professionals should become more familiar with medications that cause irregular heart rhythms called arrhythmias, according to "Drug- Induced Arrhythmias," a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published today in the Association's flagship journal Circulation.

15 Sep 2020

14 existing drugs identified as SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports on the identification of 14 compounds that can inhibit the key viral enzyme called the Main Protease (MPro) at micromolar concentrations.

1 Sep 2020