Experimental cancer drug may boost Covid immune response, study finds
Researchers say the antiviral triggers ‘highly effective’ immune response to string of respiratory diseases
An experimental cancer drug derived from a poisonous plant could be used to boost the body’s natural immune response to Covid-19, new research suggests.
The antiviral, called thapsigargin, is being trialled as a treatment for prostate cancer patients. But scientists at the University of Nottingham believe the drug, derived from a Mediterranean weed that is highly toxic to sheep and cattle, may also be used to fight the coronavirus.
In what the team describe as a “ground-breaking study”, small doses of the antiviral were found to trigger a “highly effective” immune response against three types of human respiratory viruses including Sars-CoV-2, which causes Covid.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Study leader Professor Kin-Chow Chang said that the “hugely significant” findings “strongly indicate” that “thapsigargin and its derivatives are promising antiviral treatments against Covid and influenza” - and also “have the potential to defend us against the next Disease X pandemic”.
“A new generation of antivirals, such as thapsigargin, could play a key role in the control and treatment of important viral infections in both humans and animals,” he added.
Chang admits that more testing is “clearly needed”, with the Daily Mail noting that “no evidence exists that it will work on humans”.
However, the research conducted so far has found that thapsigargin is “effective at blocking symptoms when used before or during active infection in petri dish tests and on mice”, the newspaper reports.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The alarming rise of cancer in young people
Under the radar Cancer rates are rising, and the cause is not clear
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
'Beyond belief': fears of asbestos return
Under the radar Attention is returning to the dangers of the carcinogenic substance
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
What to say to someone who has cancer
The Explainer Saying something is better than nothing but there are some things to avoid too
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published