THE ROLE OF FENOFIBRATE IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SARS-COV-2 CORONAVIRUS

Аннотация

The present pandemic and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) have resulted in a significant number of deaths worldwide. Today the number of deaths exceeds 4.55 million people. To identify drugs for additional effective treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection, a screen was created to measure the dimerization of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the main virus entry receptor into the cell. This screen identified fenofibric acid, the active metabolite of fenofibrate. Fenofibric acid also destabilized the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the viral spike protein and inhibited the binding of RBD to ACE2 in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fenofibrate and fenofibric acid have been tested by two independent laboratories. In both cases, at concentrations of the drug in clinical doses, fenofibrate and fenofibric acid reduced viral infection by up to 70%Together with an extensive history of clinical use and a relatively good safety profile, this study identifies fenofibrate as a potential therapeutic agent requiring clinical evaluation for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection in comorbid patients with hypertension and high body mass index.