An Indian-American scientist-led team from the University of Missouri has found that four antiviral drugs, including remdesivir, a drug originally developed to treat Ebola, are effective in inhibiting the replication of the coronavirus causing COVID-19. Kamlendra Singh, an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and his team used computer-aided drug design to examine the effectiveness of remdesivir, 5-fluorouracil, ribavirin and favipiravir in treating COVID-19.

According to the study, published in the journal Pathogens, Singh found that all four drugs were effective in inhibiting, or blocking, the coronavirus’ RNA proteins from making genomic copies of the virus.

“As researchers, we have an obligation to search for possible treatments given that so many people are dying from this virus,” Singh said. These antiviral drugs, if they turn out to be effective, all have some limitations. “But in the midst of a global pandemic, they are worth taking a deeper look at because based on our research, we have reason to believe that all of these drugs could potentially be effective in treating COVID-19,” he added.