The Calcium Channel Blocker Bepridil Demonstrates Efficacy in the Murine Model of Marburg Virus Disease.

DeWald, Lisa Evans; Dyall, Julie; Sword, Jennifer M; Torzewski, Lisa; Zhou, Huanying; Postnikova, Elena; Kollins, Erin; Alexander, Isis et al. · J Infect Dis · 2018

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

No therapeutics are approved for the treatment of filovirus infections. Bepridil, a calcium channel blocker developed for treating angina, was identified as a potent inhibitor of filoviruses in vitro, including Ebola and Marburg viruses, and Ebola virus in vivo. We evaluated the efficacy of bepridil in a lethal mouse model of Marburg virus disease. A dose of 12 mg/kg bepridil once or twice daily resulted in 80% or 90% survival, respectively. These data confirm bepridil's broad-spectrum anti-filovirus activity warranting further investigation of bepridil, or improved compounds with a similar mechanism, as a pan-filovirus therapeutic agent.

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