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Review
. 2021 Nov 9;13(11):2246.
doi: 10.3390/v13112246.

Inosine Pranobex Deserves Attention as a Potential Immunomodulator to Achieve Early Alteration of the COVID-19 Disease Course

Jiří Beran  1 , Marián Špajdel  2 , Jiří Slíva  3
Affiliations
Review

Inosine Pranobex Deserves Attention as a Potential Immunomodulator to Achieve Early Alteration of the COVID-19 Disease Course

Jiří Beran et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Since its licensing in 1971, the synthetic compound inosine pranobex has been effectively combating viral infections, including herpes zoster, varicella, measles, and infections caused by the herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and respiratory viruses. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, new and existing drugs have been intensively evaluated for their potential as COVID-19 medication. Due to its potent immunomodulatory properties, inosine pranobex, an orally administered drug with pleiotropic effects, can, during early treatment, alter the course of the disease. We describe the action of inosine pranobex in the body and give an overview of existing evidence collected to support further efforts to study this drug in a rigorous clinical trial setup.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; drug repurposing; immunomodulation; inosine pranobex; isoprinosine; lymphopenia; methisoprinol.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. Ewopharma sro supported the work of Ales Tichopad and Journal submission fees.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of the case fatality rate (CFR) for COVID-19 of the residents of three nursing homes (142/17) to the CFR from all nursing homes in the Czech Republic (415/78) and to the CFR of 21 NH in Ireland (764/211).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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