Discovery of Preventive and Therapeutic Agents Effective Against All COVID-19 Variants

US-Canada Research Team Discovers Nanocompound 'N-0385'
Eliminates Pan-Coronavirus Ability to Invade Human Cells
Spike Protein Enzyme Inhibition Prevents Cell Damage

Reference photo. Schematic diagram of the binding between the spike protein RBD (red) on the surface of the COVID-19 virus and the human cell surface hACE2 receptor protein (blue).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A substance with preventive and therapeutic effects against all COVID-19 viruses, including various variants such as Omicron, has been discovered.

A joint research team from Cornell University in the United States and the University of British Columbia in Canada published a research paper on this topic in the international academic journal Nature on the 28th (local time). According to the paper, the team identified a nano-molecular compound called 'N-0385' that inhibits the protein-degrading enzyme (TMPRSS2) used by the COVID-19 virus to invade the human body. This compound was confirmed to block the cell invasion of the COVID-19 virus variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. After inducing severe COVID-19 in genetically modified mice with human DNA and administering N-0385 either once or multiple times, they found that it exhibited a high level of preventive and therapeutic effects in all cases.

The research team expects that spraying this compound into the nasal cavity could prevent COVID-19 virus infection. They plan to proceed with the process for emergency use authorization from the U.S. FDA within six months at the earliest.

The team explained, "This research confirmed that the TMPRSS2 protease plays a key role in maturing the ability of the COVID-19 virus spike protein to break down the human cell wall," adding, "It also suggests that N-0385 could be a very effective early treatment method against COVID-19 or the recently surging variants."