Antifungal and antidepressant drugs may help protect against COVID-19

New research published in the British Journal of Pharmacology indicates that two currently available medications—an antifungal drug and an antidepressant—can effectively inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19 in laboratory cells.

Investigators found that the antifungal itraconazole and the antidepressant fluoxetine each blocked the production of infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell culture lab tests. When either drug was used in combination with the antiviral drug remdesiver, the combination showed synergistic effects and inhibited the production of SARS-CoV-2 by more than 90%.

"Preventive vaccination and therapeutic medicines against COVID-19 are both required to effectively combat pandemics caused by emerging zoonotic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2," said senior author Ursula Rescher, Ph.D., of the University of Muenster, in Germany.