New study from UBC researcher outlines pathway toward blocking COVID-19 virus

The University of British Columbia announced Thursday that aninternational team led by Dr. Josef Penninger has found a potentialdrug that helpsblock infection from the virus that causesCOVID-19.

Penninger, abiomedical researcher from Austria, is aprofessor in UBC's faculty of medicine anddirector of the Life Sciences Institute there.

His study published April 2 in thepeer-reviewed journal Cell focuses on aprotein on the surface of human cells which is a key receptor for the spikes ofglycoproteincharacteristic in the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The study providesdirect evidence that a proteincalled APN01 (human recombinant soluble angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 hrsACE2) is useful as an "antiviral therapy" for the novel coronavirus, say its authors, because the virus bindsto it rather than acell wall.

Penninger has been working for decades to shine a light on cellular doorways, or receptors, that allowviruses entry into human organs. He's now turned to the virus that causes COVID-19.

"This virus hits the good guy and gets rid of the good guy, and that's why this virus is really dangerous because we lose protection of multiple tissues," said Penniger in a telephone call from Austria where he is stuckbecause of the global lockdown to stop the disease's spread.

There are now more than one million cases of COVID-19worldwideand tens of thousands are dead. As the virus spreads so does the intense search for treatments, as there are no tested antiviral therapies yet.

Penningerhas split his life between Vancouver and Vienna since 2018andhis Arnold Schwarzenegger-style accent soundsraspyafter months of working 19 hours aday.

It was Penniger's passion for the natural world thatledhim to thediscovery of the receptor at the heart of his current research, while he was studying fruit flies in a Toronto university lab 21 years ago.

"I love fruit flies. ... I'm totally obsessed with nature," he said."The virus, if you look at it, it's beautiful."

He and colleagues at the University of Toronto and the Institute of Molecular Biology in Vienna conductedearlier work on the same receptor using theSARSvirus, which is also acoronavirus.

"This virus is a brother or sister of the SARS virus," said Penninger.

Human drug trials begin soon

APN01 is scheduled to begin clinical trials in Europe, according to the UBC news release.

Penninger said he twigged that his drug might be able to help back in January when aChinese scientist published the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus and he saw the similarity toSARS.

So far, his team's latestresearch related to COVID-19 has been conducted on cells and engineered human tissue in a laboratory setting.

'Promising' say experts

Infectious disease physician and researcher at the University of Toronto, Isaac Bogoch, said the drug is interesting, but it will take time before it's available evenif it pans out in upcoming human trials.

"This is seen as one of the crucial pathways for COVID-19. This is clearly a big step in the right direction," said Bogoch.

Arthur Caplan, founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University's School of Medicine in New York City, said in an email theleap from a laboratory to the real worlds is huge.

"Very interesting.But, still a long way from proof of clinical safety or efficacy. Many things fail that look promising in a dish.

"Organized, controlled human testing is still very much needed before giving this to anyone."

The former head of the Centre For Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases with the Public Health Agency of Canada agrees.

"It looks like a promising drug; however, the real test will be what happensin humans ... whether the dose that might inhibit the virus is achievable in humans and not too toxic to them,"said Dr. John Spika in an email.

The research was supported, in part, by federal emergency fundingaimed at accelerating testing and development of potential cures or treatments to help deal with the outbreak, said UBC.