Screen of existing drugs finds compounds active against MERS coronavirus

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Clinicians treating patients suffering from Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) currently have no drugs specifically targeted to the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a virus first detected in humans in 2012. To address the urgent need for therapies, researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health screened a set of 290 compounds already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or far advanced in clinical development for other indications to determine if any might also show potential for working against MERS-CoV.
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news