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Nelfinavir inhibits replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in vitro.
Preprint
in English
| bioRxiv
| ID: ppbiorxiv-026476
ABSTRACT
In December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. No specific treatment has been established against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) so far. Therefore, it is urgently needed to identify effective antiviral agents for the treatment of this disease, and several approved drugs such as lopinavir have been evaluated. Here, we report that nelfinavir, an HIV-1 protease inhibitor, potently inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2. The effective concentrations for 50% and 90% inhibition (EC50 and EC90) of nelfinavir were 1.13 {micro}M and 1.76 {micro}M respectively, the lowest of the nine HIV-1 protease inhibitors including lopinavir. The trough and peak serum concentrations of nelfinavir were three to six times higher than EC50 of this drug. These results suggest that nelfinavir is a potential candidate drug for the treatment of COVID-19 and should be assessed in patients with COVID-19.
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Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
bioRxiv
Type of study:
Experimental_studies
Language:
English
Year:
2020
Document type:
Preprint