Pralatrexate sold under the brand name Folotyn could cure Covid-19

 

Pralatrexate sold under the brand name Folotyn,  belonging to a group of medicines called antifolates, a drug originally developed to kill lymphomas cancer tumors that originate in the gland for the last decade could cure Covid-19 according to new research by lead author Dr. Haiping Zhang of Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in China.

In laboratory tests, pralatrexate outperformed remdesivir, the anti-viral given to seriously ill patients, including Donald Trump.

It is also used to treat patients aged 18 years or older with aggressive lymphoma after previous treatments have failed. It slows or stops the growth of cancer cells.

“ It was stronger than remdesivir within the same experimental conditions”. The study published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology offers hope of reformulating it into a nasal spray.

Remdesivir was the first major pharmacological breakthrough of the pandemic – speeding up recovery and boosting survival chances. When someone is infected with SARS-CoV2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – a spike-shaped protein attaches to a human cell and then inserts its genetic material. Pralatrexate acts as a receptor – trapping the virus as it harmlessly degrades.

The Chinese team identified pralatrexate’s powers after using artificial intelligence or machine learning to screen 1,906 existing drugs.

Dissolving pralatrexate may offer hope of a nasal spray if side effects such as vomiting and fatigue can be overcome.