Treating COVID-19: SIUE Pharmacy Experts Contribute To Research And Development Via NIH Program

Advances in Infections Disease Medicine Continue

EDWARDSVILLE – Scientists and researchers worldwide have been working diligently to develop effective and affordable vaccines to combat COVID-19. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy’s (SOP) leading experts are not only administering vaccines, but also contributing to research and development that may help treat COVID-19 symptoms orally and prevent hospitalization.

As part of the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) InVitro Assessment for Antimicrobial Activity Program, SOP researchers have developed small, novel compounds to be screened for anti-COVID activity. This advancement is of particular importance as currently there are no Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved small molecules that are highly effective for the treatment of the virus.

“Discovery of a new orally active drug against COVID-19, and potentially other viral infections, would be a huge leap forward in infections disease medicine,” noted Joe Schober, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“While reading a recent publication about results from a large screen aimed at the discovery of potential drugs to treat COVID-19, I realized that some of the drugs showing activity against COVID-19 were closely related to the compounds made here in the SOP,” he explained. “The NIH program is an excellent resource for researchers wishing to contribute to the anti-virus discovery field, but who may not have the proper biosafety level required for testing.”

The compounds being studied by the SOP target Sigma receptors found throughout the body, meaning this research has the potential to have a broad therapeutic effect in many areas of medicine.

SOP Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty Michael Crider, PhD, chair and associate dean, and William Neumann, PhD, retired professor, have previously synthesized compounds with high affinity for Sigma receptors. Currently, these compounds are being tested for anti-cancer activity in collaboration with the Simmons Cancer Institute at the SIU School of Medicine.

Schober’s finding prompted the SOP to closely examine and select eight of the previously developed compounds to test for anti-COVID activity through the NIH program, which provides testing free of charge for researchers.

“Pharmacy undergraduate and graduate students will join this effort to optimize the lead compounds and investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms,” Schober said. “The hope is that the optimized compounds could be further advanced to pre-clinical and clinical trials, and eventually gain FDA approval.”

Today’s pharmacists improve patients’ lives through the medication and education they provide. Dedicated to developing a community of caring pharmacists, the School of Pharmacy curriculum is nationally recognized as a model that offers students a unique combination of classroom education, research, community service and patient care. Areas of excellence include a drug design and discovery core, pediatric practice, chronic pain research and practice and diabetes research and practice.

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