Scientists discover 5 FDA-approved drugs are effective at stopping coronavirus spread in the body

A massive global collaboration of scientists has discovered several possible ways we could treat COVID-19.

Dozens of researchers have discovered that five existing drugs and a range of other drug compounds are effective at blocking COVID-19 from infecting human cells, they revealed in a study published Thursday in the scientific journal Nature. While the lab study doesn't take into account the drugs' effects on other parts of the body, it "could lead to a therapeutic regimen to treat COVID-19," the study says.

To study how certain drugs affect the coronavirus, the scientists first broke down what human proteins the virus manipulates. They then looked for known drugs and experimental compounds that affect those proteins, and tested 47 of them against the virus. Five existing drugs that are already FDA-approved to treat other diseases proved effective at blocking COVID-19's spread, including the much-discussed malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. Several experimental compounds, most developed as potential cancer treatments, also proved effective.

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The paper was sure to note that these tests happened outside of the human body, so no one should try taking the tested drugs unless it's in a controlled study. The University of California, San Francisco led the study, but scientists from around the world made contributions. Find the whole study here and read more about it at the San Francisco Chronicle.