Patent Filed on Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Drug Development through International Joint Research Collaboration with Birla Institute of Technology, India

[24.02.26]

The Division of Infection Control Research, Center for Advanced Science Research and Promotion, Kagoshima University (Director: Prof. Mika Okamoto), in collaboration with Prof. Ashoke Sharon and Dr. Chandralata Bal at the Department of Chemistry, Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), India, has been working on the development of novel antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2. The studies using biosafety level 3 (BSL3) facilities at the division on novel small-molecule compounds synthesized by Prof. Sharon's group showed that novel pyridine carboxylic acid derivatives strongly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell cultures. Furthermore, they found that the derivatives were likely to have a distinguished mode of action compared to existing anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs, such as remdesivir (RNA polymerase inhibitor) and Nirmatrelvir (protease inhibitor). Based on these results, Kagoshima University completed a patent application for the invention of an "anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug" on February 19, 2024. Kagoshima University will continue the collaborative research with BIT to identify derivatives with higher antiviral activity and to explore the possibility of clinical development by clarifying their mechanism of action, in vivo efficacy, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics.