Study shows new drug combination more effective against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine have identified a powerful combination of antivirals to treat COVID-19. The researchers showed that combining the experimental drug brequinar with either of the two drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use, remdesivir or molnupiravir, inhibited growth of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in human lung cells and in mice. Their findings suggest that these drugs are more potent when used in combination than individually. The study was published on February 7, 2022, in Nature. “We demonstrated that brequinar and molnupiravir work better together than either drug alone in our mouse model of COVID-19,” said Co-Principal Investigator Matthew Frieman, PhD, Associate Professor Microbiology and Immunology, and member of the Center for Pathogen Research at UMSOM. “As the virus continues to spread and mutate, we want drugs that are accessible, easy...