Rush Scientists Develop Potential COVID-19 Drug

January 20, 2021

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Scientists from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois have developed a new potential therapy for COVID-19 that has shown promising results in its lab study.

The scientists used hexapeptide in mouse models that are infected with COVID-19. The peptide was nasally introduced and has shown to be effective in reducing fever, improving heart function, protecting the lungs, and reversing cytokine storm. The peptide is also successful in preventing the progression of the disease.  Cytokine storm is the overreacting of the immune system to infection by overflooding the bloodstream with inflammatory proteins. This peptide inhibits cytokines produced by COVID-19.

The discovery of this drug will be a great help in controlling the virus transmission even in the post-vaccine era because vaccines alone do not guarantee total prevention of the spread of the virus.

For more details, read the article in Rush.

https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=18553