Ambroxol and Ciprofloxacin Show Activity Against SARS-CoV2

Steven B Bradfute, Chunyan Ye, Elizabeth C Clarke, Suresh Kumar, Graham S Timmins, View ORCID ProfileVojo Deretic

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.11.245100

PDF: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.11.245100v1.full.pdf

Abstract

We studied the activity of a range of weakly basic and moderately lipophilic drugs against SARS CoV2 in Vero E6 cells, using Vero E6 survival, qPCR of viral genome and plaque forming assays. No clear relationship between their weakly basic and hydrophobic nature upon their activity was observed. However, the approved drugs ambroxol and ciprofloxacin showed potent activity at concentrations that are clinically relevant and within their known safety profiles, and so may provide potentially useful agents for preclinical and clinical studies in COVID-19.

Competing Interest Statement

Deretic and Timmins are co-inventors of US patent 10,583,099 Isotope enhanced ambroxol for long lasting autophagy induction. Timmins owns stock in a company that options this patent. Bradfute, Deretic and Timmins are inventors on US provisional patent application 63/003,432 on treatment of COVID-19 by ambroxol and bromhexine.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.11.245100v1?rss=1%22