The experimental oral drug Tempol may be a promising treatment for COVID-19, according to a study published June 3 in Science.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health tested the drug in an experiment of cell cultures with live viruses, finding it can reduce COVID-19 infections by targeting an enzyme the virus needs to make copies of itself inside the body.
"We urgently need additional effective, accessible treatments for COVID-19," Diana Bianchi, MD, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a news release. "An oral drug that prevents SARS-CoV-2 from replicating would be an important tool for reducing the severity of the disease."
The NIH said it will conduct more preliminary studies on Tempo l and plans to study the drug in a clinical study of COVID-19.