A HONG KONG-LED global study showed that a hepatitis C virus drug simeprevir can strongly suppress the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a press release issued by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) yesterday.

Since the beginning of 2020, researchers from the CUHK and the University of Hong Kong have collaborated with over 30 scientists from local and overseas laboratories to search for an effective drug molecule for the treatment of COVID-19.

Using a combination of biochemistry, cell biology and computational chemistry techniques, the team discovered simeprevir can simultaneously target two major viral proteins that are critical to viral replication. Simeprevir is by now the only antiviral drug that can target more than one SARS-CoV-2 protein.

Billy Wai Lung Ng, a professor from the CUHK’s faculty of medicine, said that simeprevir is an antiviral agent used for the treatment of hepatitis C by inhibiting the activity of viral protease so as to suppress viral replication.

Michael Chi Wai Chan, an associate professor of the School of Public Health from the HKU’s faculty of medicine, said the team also evaluated the antiviral effect of simeprevir together with remdesivir. The results showed that with 3.3 uM of remdesivir and simeprevir, the antiviral effect was increased over 100-fold when compared with remdesivir alone.

David Shu Cheong Hui, an respiratory medicine expert from the CUHK, said that recent research studies suggested that the existing vaccines and drugs may not be able to combat the emerging mutants of the virus effectively.

Additionally, a recent study has shown that Qingfei Paidu soup, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) widely used to treat COVID-19, can help reduce the rate of death among hospitalized patients by half, China Daily reported yesterday.

The study, led by researchers from Fuwai Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, examined more than 8,900 hospitalized COVID-19 cases in Hubei Province, the hardest-hit region during the epidemic, from January to May last year.

China also does well in its vaccine development. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday validated Sinopharm-developed vaccine for emergency use, a move widely welcomed by officials and experts worldwide and set to benefit the global fight against the pandemic.

Apart from sound COVID prevention and control system in its rural and urban areas, China is also taking strict measures to prevent COVID infections on Mount Qomolangma and has reported zero infections so far on the north side of the mountain since the climbing season began in early April.

21 expedition permits have been issued this year on the north side of the mountain, all to Chinese citizens. According to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA), no foreign nationals have been allowed into the Qomolangma area since the outbreak began last year.

“We put strict anti-epidemic measures into action in all the camps along the climbing route this year,” said Nyima Tsering, head of the Tibetan Sports Bureau.(Xinhua)