UCSF & Study Team: Drug Derived from a Sea Species 30X More Potent than Remdesivir Targeting SARS-CoV-2
A research team led by the prestigious University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) reveals that a drug known as Aplidin absolutely destroys the SARS-CoV-2 virus in both infected human lung cells and analogous cells derived from monkeys in preclinical research. Published recently in the journal Science, the UCSF-led research team used small concentrations of the substance, originating from a marine creature known as Aplidium albicans. As it turns out, this “sea squirt” originating off the Mediterranean coast of Ibiza, Spain, is “almost 30 times more potent than Remdesivir.” What if this substance could be translated into a safe treatment targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19?
Covered recently in San Francisco’s paper known online as SFGate, journalist Tessa McLean shares with the world the perspective of Nevan Krogan, a UCSF molecular biologist who led the study along with a virus expert from New York City’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital (Adolfo García-Sastre) that, “We need some new weapons in the arsenal.” Also called plitidepsin, Aplidin isn’t available in too many places; however, in Australia the drug’s been approved to treat multiple myeloma (a blood cancer). As it turns out, the ownership of the intellectual property (IP) happens to be close to Ibiza—a Spanish company called Pharma Mar SA, which was founded by a scuba-diving scientist, reports Ms. McLean.
