An international group of researchers, including Avivia CEO Hans Platteeuw, believe there is ample evidence that antimalarial drugs can be used to treat COVID-19 and that they should be assessed for their efficacy in clinical trials.
The research group, from institutions across Europe, Asia and Africa, point to a combination of the drugs artesunate and pyronaridine as the most promising.
Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have demonstrated in-vitro inhibition of severe acuterespiratory syndrome coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2). Artemisinins have also shown anti-inflammatory effects, including inhibition of interleukin-6(IL-6) that plays a key role in the development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is now sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of ACTs, and in particular artesunate/pyronaridine, to support clinical studies for COVID-19 infections.
