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Lopinavir/ritonavir: Repurposing an old drug for HIV infection in COVID-19 treatment.
Magro, Paola; Zanella, Isabella; Pescarolo, Marta; Castelli, Francesco; Quiros-Roldan, Eugenia.
  • Magro P; University Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
  • Zanella I; Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy; Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Section, Diagnostic Department, ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
  • Pescarolo M; University Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
  • Castelli F; University Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of Brescia and ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
  • Quiros-Roldan E; University Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of Brescia and ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: eugeniaquiros@yahoo.it.
Biomed J ; 44(1): 43-53, 2021 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-917222
ABSTRACT
Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. However, drugs previously developed to treat other viral infections are being tested to verify if they might also be effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Twenty years ago, the F.D.A. approved Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) to treat HIV infection. LPV and ritonavir were initially purposed to inhibit 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV and preliminary promising data on its efficacy for treating people infected with those viruses were available. Therefore, due to the high genetic similarities among those viruses and SARS-CoV-2, early during COVID-19 pandemic LPV/r was also proposed as one emergency treatment. We reviewed data from the literature about LPV/r treatment and SARS-CoV-2 infection, mainly focused on the efficacy and safety of this drugs for COVID-19 treatment. We can conclude that although up to date no clear benefit has been observed with the LPV/r treatment beyond standard care, its efficacy against SARS-COV-2 infection deserves further evaluations, particularly during the very early phase of the disease.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: HIV Infections / Ritonavir / Drug Repositioning / Lopinavir / SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 Drug Treatment Type of study: Experimental Studies / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Topics: Variants Limits: Animals / Humans Language: English Journal: Biomed J Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.bj.2020.11.005

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: HIV Infections / Ritonavir / Drug Repositioning / Lopinavir / SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 Drug Treatment Type of study: Experimental Studies / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Topics: Variants Limits: Animals / Humans Language: English Journal: Biomed J Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: J.bj.2020.11.005