A drug against rheumatoid arthritis called baricitinib could potentially be repurposed to treat patients with COVID-19, according to a study conducted by an international research team including researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The findings, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, represent an example of how artificial intelligence (AI)-algorithms could help identify existing drugs as potential therapies against as new illnesses.
Baricitinib is a once-daily oral drug used for treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. It acts as an inhibitor of janus kinase, a type of enzyme that acts as an “on” or “off” switch in many cellular functions. The drug works by interfering with the inflammatory processes of the immune system and has been viewed as a potential treatment candidate for COVID-19.