Source: the-scientist.com<\/p>\n
A<\/span>combination of flu and HIV medications may be able to treat severe cases of 2019-nCoV, the new coronavirus that has emerged in China, according to doctors in Thailand who have been caring for infected patients. The team\u2019s approach, which used large doses of the flu drug oseltamivir combined with HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir, improved the conditions of several patients at the Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the cure, but the patient\u2019s condition has vastly improved,\u201d Rajavithi Hospital\u2019s Kriangsak Atipornwanich says of one 70-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, according to\u00a0Reuters. \u201cFrom testing positive for 10 days under our care, after applying this combination of medicine the test result became negative within 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Thailand has so far recorded 19 cases of coronavirus, Reuters reports, making it the country with the greatest number of infections in Southeast Asia. Eight patients have recovered, while the rest are still undergoing treatment. Officials say that the country\u2019s health ministry would meet today (February 3) to discuss the new treatment for severe cases. \u201cWe still have to do more study to determine that this can be a standard treatment,\u201d Atipornwanich tells reporters.<\/p>\n Other countries have also showed interest in using HIV drugs against the new coronavirus. China\u2019s National Health Commission recently began recommending lopinavir and ritonavir (sold together by Illinois-based pharma AbbVie as Kaletra), according to\u00a0Fierce Pharma<\/em>. AbbVie has pledged to donate about $1.5 million worth of Kaletra for the effort.<\/p>\n A randomized controlled clinical trial is now underway in China to test the anti-HIV drugs\u2019 efficacy, according to a study published last week (January 24) in\u00a0The Lancet<\/em>. Scientists in Hong Kong will also likely test these drugs in patients alongside immune system\u2013boosting medications, Hong Kong University microbiologist Yuen Kwok-Yung tells\u00a0Science<\/em>.<\/p>\n Other treatments being considered by national governments and pharma companies include Gilead Sciences\u2019s remdesivir, a drug that was designed to treat Ebola but failed efficacy tests. \u201cGilead is working closely with global health authorities to respond to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak through the appropriate experimental use of our investigational compound remdesivir,\u201d the company\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Merdad Parsey says in a\u00a0statement.<\/p>\n Massachusetts-based Moderna Therapeutics, meanwhile, is collaborating with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop an mRNA vaccine,\u00a0Fierce Pharma\u00a0<\/em>reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2940,2939,1722,52],"class_list":["post-4423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aids-hiv","tag-coronavirus","tag-efficacy","tag-flu","tag-hiv"],"yoast_head":"\n