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Editorial
. 2020 Apr;55(4):105944.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105944. Epub 2020 Mar 13.

Teicoplanin: an alternative drug for the treatment of COVID-19?

Sophie Alexandra Baron  1 , Christian Devaux  2 , Philippe Colson  1 , Didier Raoult  3 , Jean-Marc Rolain  4
Affiliations
Editorial

Teicoplanin: an alternative drug for the treatment of COVID-19?

Sophie Alexandra Baron et al. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged from China causing pneumonia outbreaks, first in the Wuhan region of China and then spread worldwide because of its probable high transmission efficiency. Owing to the lack of efficient and specific treatments and the need to contain the epidemic, drug repurposing appears to be the best tool to find a therapeutic solution. Chloroquine, remdesivir, lopinavir, ribavirin and ritonavir have shown efficacy to inhibit coronavirus in vitro. Teicoplanin, an antibiotic used to treat staphylococcal infections, previously showed efficacy to inhibit the first stage of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) viral life cycle in human cells. This activity is conserved against SARS-Cov-2, thus placing teicoplanin as a potential treatment for patients with this virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Drug repurposing; SARS-CoV-2; Teicoplanin.

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References

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