Research published in PLOS Computational Biology –covering computational biology– claims that a chemotherapy drug originally developed to treat cancer could potentially be repurposed to inhibit the replication of the novel coronavirus and treat COVID-19, as per PTI reports.

Supported by computer simulation and lab experiments, the results show that simulation between the drug-virus interactions from different, complementary perspectives can be drawn. Scientists from Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology in China used a hybrid approach to screen 1,906 existing drugs for their potential ability to inhibit replication of the coronavirus by targeting a viral protein called RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP).

“We have demonstrated the value of our novel hybrid approach that combines deep-learning technologies with more traditional simulations of molecular dynamics,” said study author Haiping Zhang of the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology.

Four drugs were identified and pitted against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab experiments. The researchers said that two of the drugs, pralatrexate and azithromycin, successfully inhibited replication of the virus, and further lab experiments showed that pralatrexate more strongly inhibited viral replication than did remdesivir — a drug that is currently used to treat some COVID-19 patients.According to the scientists, the findings suggest that pralatrexate could potentially be repurposed to treat COVID-19.

However, the researchers said the chemotherapy drug may prompt significant side effects and is used for people with terminal lymphoma, so they added that immediate use for COVID-19 patients is not guaranteed.

But the research highlighted the importance of the new screening strategy to identify drugs that could be repurposed.

The researchers are now developing additional computational methods for generating novel molecular structures that could be developed into new drugs to treat COVID-19