The Drug Design and Molecular Topology Unit group of the University of Valencia has shown that certain macrolide antibiotics (used in respiratory tract infections), including clarithromycin and azithromycin, can prevent the entry of SARS-CoV -2 in cells. The study, led by Professor of Physical Chemistry Jorge Gálvez, has been published in the prestigious North American Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.J. Galvez and his research team
The group already pioneered an article in March 2020, proposing such antibiotics as drugs that could be targeted to treat COVID-19. However, this prediction was only based on theoretical computational calculations. The method was based on molecular topology, a part of mathematical chemistry that deals with the algebraic description of chemical compounds, which allows them to be easily characterised.
Now, in collaboration with researchers from the National Center for Biotechnology (CSIC), they have shown with their study that these antibiotics are capable of preventing the entry of the virus in vitro by deactivating the well-known spike protein.
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Journal of Chemical Information and Modelling. Research Paper: