Discovery of a drug that can treat COVID 19 in the early few hours of infection

Scientists have discovered a drug that effectively blocks the binding region of coronavirus to the cell surface receptor, and could potentially treat COVID 19 in the early hours of infection. The results of research on this new drug were published in the prestigious journal of Cell a few days ago, raising hopes for an effective treatment for coronavirus disease.

The new drug was discovered by a team of scientists around the world under the direction of the University of British Columbia in Canada. Prominent physicians and researchers in Canada, Spain, as well as the Swedish Infectious Diseases Team in Sweden, led by Dr. Ali Mir Azimi, have conducted this joint research. The drug, discovered by the international research team, now has the scientific name of hrsACE2, and its clinical trials will soon be launched by Apeiron Biologics in Europe.

Research has shown that the coronavirus can directly multiply in the blood vessels and kidneys in addition to the lungs. Laboratory cell culture results have shown that the new drug can reduce the number of viruses in the infected tissue 1,000 to 5,000 times. Research on this new drug has focused on two aspects. Firstly, how the virus interacts with the cell membranes of the human tissues and how it can bind (ligand-receptor binding) to the particular cells (tropism) and infect them, and on the other hand, how the infection spreads through the bloodstream and involves the kidneys.

"We hope that the results of our research will lead to the widespread production of a new drug to treat this pervasive disease," said Josef Penninger, head of the drug research team at the University of British Columbia. In this research, a key protein called ACE2 has been found at the cell membrane, which plays an important role in the process of binding the virus to the body's cells.

Researchers have found that the lack of an effective antiviral drug for those viruses that use the ACE2 protein to infect the human body will be the main cause of infection and outbreak to this particular family of viruses.