Stephen Cusack and Angus Lamond discussed the potential of repurposing anti-influenza drugs for COVID-19 treatment. They highlighted the similarities and differences between the two viruses' RNA-dependent RNA polymerases and emphasized the promising target of the polymerase for drug development. Ongoing clinical trials of nucleoside analogue drugs, including remdesivir, have shown promise in shortening illness duration but with side effects and limited availability. The speakers agreed that no single drug is a magic bullet and more rigorous clinical trials are needed to determine efficacy and safety.
Presenter:
🎙️ Stephen Cusack, Emeritus Head, Group Leader, Senior Scientist at EMBL Grenoble, 1979-2022
Summary:
0:06 - Repurposing Anti-Influenza Drugs for COVID-19
• Examining similarities and differences between influenza and SARS-CoV-2 as single-stranded RNA viruses.
• Mechanisms of influenza RNA polymerase and new drug targets.
5:01 - New Drugs for COVID-19
• Overview of new drugs for COVID-19, including remdesivir and nucleoside analogues.
Potential for these drugs to shorten illness duration.
• Comparison of influenza polymerase structure with SARS-CoV-2 polymerase, highlighting similarities and differences.
• Targeting the highly conserved core region of the enzyme for antiviral drug development.
Additional Insights
• Development of new drugs to combat SARS-CoV-2 with varying degrees of success.
• Recent flu drugs are effective against influenza but not against COVID-19.
• Nucleoside analogue drugs show potential but require clinical trials.
• Angus Lamond comments on remdesivir, noting it shortened illness duration in clinical trials but did not reduce mortality rate or prevent deaths.