RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Ivermectin does not protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Syrian hamster model
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.02.22.481472
DO 10.1101/2022.02.22.481472
A1 Caroline S. Foo
A1 Rana Abdelnabi
A1 Laura Vangeel
A1 Steven De Jonghe
A1 Dirk Jochamns
A1 Birgit Weynand
A1 Johan Neyts
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/02/24/2022.02.22.481472.abstract
AB Ivermectin, an FDA-approved antiparasitic drug, has been reported to have in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2. An increasing off-label use of Ivermectin for COVID-19 has been reported. We here assessed the effect of Ivermectin in Syrian hamsters infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Beta (B.1.351) variant. Infected animals received a clinically relevant dose of Ivermectin (0.4 mg/kg subcutaneously dosed) once daily for four consecutive days after which the effect was quantified. Ivermectin monotherapy did not reduce lung viral load and even significantly worsened the SARS-CoV-2-induced lung pathology. Additionally, it did not potentiate the activity of Molnupiravir (Lagevrio™) when combined with this drug. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that Ivermectin does not result in a beneficial effect in the treatment of COVID-19. These findings are important given the increasing, dangerous off-label use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.