HIV drugs touted as weapon in war on coronavirus

As doctors scramble to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, a potent brew of anti-retroviral and flu drugs has emerged as a possible defence against the mysterious sickness that has killed hundreds. But the science is inconclusive on whether they are actually effective and experts say successful treatment could take years. Here is what we know -- and don’t know -- about the drugs deployed against the SARS-like virus.

As doctors scramble to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, a potent brew of anti-retroviral and flu drugs has emerged as a possible defence against the mysterious sickness that has killed hundreds. But the science is inconclusive on whether they are actually effective and experts say successful treatment could take years.

Here is what we know and don’t know about the drugs deployed against the SARS-like virus.

Why anti-retrovi rals? Patients diagnosed with the common flu are often prescribed an antiviral drug widely known as Tamiflu. But the seasonal flu is “very different from the Chinese coronavirus”, said Sylvie van der Werf at the Paris-based Pasteur Institute.

So far, the new coronavirus has infected tens of thousands worldwide and killed more than 420 people mostly in mainland China. Two weeks ago Chinese doctors confirmed they had been giving anti-HIV drugs to coronavirus patients in Beijing, based on a 2004 study during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, that showed “favourable” responses. Used together, lopinavir and ritonavir decrease the amount of HIV cells in a patient’s blood, stripping back the virus’s ability to reproduce and attack the immune system.