Rajkot: Anti-viral agents like remdesivir have proved effective in Covid-19 treatment as they limit the multiplication of the virus inside the body, thus stopping the infection from spreading further.
Now, scientists at the reputed Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), have found another compound from the existing drugs, whose anti-viral action could potentially be more effective medicine in the category of RdRp inhibitors, the drug which prevent multiplication of virus.
Scientists are optimistic that the discovery, which has been made after months of research, is significant as the World Health Organization (WHO) had issued an advisory against the use of remdesivir for Covid-19 treatment last month.
The new compound was found the analysis of 100 that were structurally similar to remdesivir.
The findings have been published in the reputed US publication “The Journal of Physical Chemistry B” of the American Chemical Society. The research was carried out by scientists Dr Bishwajit Ganguly, Dr Shibaji Ghosh and Padmaja Wakchaure.
Talking to TOI Dr Ghosh said, “When you design a drug, it’s very necessary to see that it will interact with the human body. We have prepared drug molecules which can be proved more effective than remdesivir.”
However, the new compound needs in vitro ( a laboratory study) and clinical trials on animals and humans to establish its efficacy in Covid treatment added team leader Dr Ganguly.
The new drug was derived from repurposing drugs, which are essentially those used in the trial of any other similar genre virus like SARC 1 or Ebola in which it remained successful.