<p>A chemotherapy medication originally developed to treat cancer could potentially be repurposed to inhibit the replication of the novel coronavirus and treat Covid-19, according to a study based on computer simulations and lab experiments.</p>.<p>The research, published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, combined multiple computational techniques that simulate drug-virus interactions from different, complimentary perspectives.</p>.<p>Using this hybrid approach, scientists from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in China, screened 1,906 existing drugs for their potential ability to inhibit replication of the coronavirus by targeting a viral protein called RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP).</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank"><strong>CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</strong></a></p>.<p>The researchers identified four promising drugs, which were then tested against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab experiments.</p>.<p>They said two of the drugs, pralatrexate and azithromycin, successfully inhibited replication of the virus, and further lab experiments showed that pralatrexate more strongly inhibited viral replication than did remdesivir -- a drug that is currently used to treat some Covid-19 patients.</p>.<p>According to the scientists, the findings suggest that pralatrexate could potentially be repurposed to treat Covid-19.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_blank"><strong>For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here</strong></a></p>.<p>However, the researchers said the chemotherapy drug may prompt significant side effects and is used for people with terminal lymphoma, so they added that immediate use for Covid-19 patients is not guaranteed.</p>.<p>But the research highlighted the importance of the new screening strategy to identify drugs that could be repurposed.</p>.<p>"We have demonstrated the value of our novel hybrid approach that combines deep-learning technologies with more traditional simulations of molecular dynamics," said study author Haiping Zhang of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology.</p>.<p>The researchers are now developing additional computational methods for generating novel molecular structures that could be developed into new drugs to treat Covid-19. </p>
<p>A chemotherapy medication originally developed to treat cancer could potentially be repurposed to inhibit the replication of the novel coronavirus and treat Covid-19, according to a study based on computer simulations and lab experiments.</p>.<p>The research, published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, combined multiple computational techniques that simulate drug-virus interactions from different, complimentary perspectives.</p>.<p>Using this hybrid approach, scientists from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in China, screened 1,906 existing drugs for their potential ability to inhibit replication of the coronavirus by targeting a viral protein called RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP).</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank"><strong>CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</strong></a></p>.<p>The researchers identified four promising drugs, which were then tested against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab experiments.</p>.<p>They said two of the drugs, pralatrexate and azithromycin, successfully inhibited replication of the virus, and further lab experiments showed that pralatrexate more strongly inhibited viral replication than did remdesivir -- a drug that is currently used to treat some Covid-19 patients.</p>.<p>According to the scientists, the findings suggest that pralatrexate could potentially be repurposed to treat Covid-19.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_blank"><strong>For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here</strong></a></p>.<p>However, the researchers said the chemotherapy drug may prompt significant side effects and is used for people with terminal lymphoma, so they added that immediate use for Covid-19 patients is not guaranteed.</p>.<p>But the research highlighted the importance of the new screening strategy to identify drugs that could be repurposed.</p>.<p>"We have demonstrated the value of our novel hybrid approach that combines deep-learning technologies with more traditional simulations of molecular dynamics," said study author Haiping Zhang of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology.</p>.<p>The researchers are now developing additional computational methods for generating novel molecular structures that could be developed into new drugs to treat Covid-19. </p>