Several FDA-Approved Drugs Effectively Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Infection in vitro.

To identify drugs that are potentially used for the treatment of COVID-19, the potency of 1403 FDA-approved drugs were evaluated using a robust pseudovirus assay and the candidates were further confirmed by authentic SARS-CoV-2 assay. Four compounds, Clomiphene (citrate), Vortioxetine, Vortioxetine (hydrobromide) and Asenapine (hydrochloride), showed potent inhibitory effects in both pseudovirus and authentic virus assay. The combination of Clomiphene (citrate), Vortioxetine and Asenapine (hydrochloride) is much more potent than used alone, with IC50 of 0.

Robust neutralization assay based on SARS-CoV-2 S-protein-bearing vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) pseudovirus and ACE2-overexpressing BHK21 cells.

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disaster for human society. A convenient and reliable neutralization assay is very important for the development of vaccines and novel drugs. In this study, a G protein-deficient vesicular stomatitis virus (VSVdG) bearing a truncated spike protein (S with C-terminal 18 amino acid truncation) was compared to that bearing the full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and showed much higher efficiency.

A unique B cell epitope-based particulate vaccine shows effective suppression of hepatitis B surface antigen in mice.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a novel therapeutic vaccine based on a unique B cell epitope and investigate its therapeutic potential against chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in animal models.

Methods: A series of peptides and carrier proteins were evaluated in HBV-tolerant mice to obtain an optimised therapeutic molecule. The immunogenicity, therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of the candidate were investigated systematically.