A group of medications long prescribed to treat tapeworm has inspired a compound that shows two-pronged effectiveness against COVID-19 in laboratory studies, according to a new publication appearing online in the journal ACS Infectious Disease.
The compound, part of a class of molecules called salicylanilides, was designed in the laboratory of Professor Kim Janda, Ph.D., the Ely R. Callaway, Jr. Professor of Chemistry and director of the Worm Institute for Research and Medicine at Scripps Research, in La Jolla, CA. “It has been known for 10 or 15 years that salicylanilides work against certain viruses,” Janda says. “However, they tend to be gut-restricted and can have toxicity issues.” Janda’s compound overcomes both issues, in mouse and cell-based tests, acting as both an antiviral and an anti-inflammatory drug-like compound, with properties that auger well for its use in pill form.
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