Combating Coronavirus: Key Role of Cyclodextrins in Treatment and Prevention

A new strain of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) started to emerge in late December 2019 from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in central China, which is a city with a population of 11 million. The pneumonia- like illness, which has spread rapidly since first appearing in late December 2019, was declared a ‘public health emergency’ by the World Health Organization. As of 10 Feb 2020, the virus has infected over 40,000 people in China, over 300 in other countries, and killed more than 900 people.

According to the US CDC, “person-to-person spread is thought to occur mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or can possibly be inhaled into the lungs.” At the molecular level, the sequence analysis and high sequence similarity of 2019-nCoV to that of SARS-CoV suggests that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor for entry into human cells.1

Roquette is committed to helping patients in need. Roquette has extensive experience and a long history of supplying KLEPTOSE® hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrins (HPβCD) as a functional excipient and a specialty active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). It is approved for oral and parenteral administration in humans by the EU, US, and Chinese regulatory authorities. In this short communication, we will review treatment strategies and the potential role of cyclodextrins in combating the illness as an excipient, adjuvant and potentially an API.

Treatment Strategies

Several antiviral drugs targeting Ebola and HIV, for example, have been repurposed and have shown promising results in patients, however, there is no approved treatment specific to 2019-nCoV. Infected patients are treated to relieve typical symptoms. The crisis urges the development of novel medicines to save lives. Scientists, clinicians and governments across the world are focusing all efforts to accelerate the clinical development and implementation of life-saving 2019-nCoV drug treatments. Download the full Roquette position paper here: roquette-position-paper-coronavirus-combatment-via-cyclodextrins.pdf