Lopinavir/ritonavir are HIV protease inhibitors that act synergistically to decrease the amount of HIV in the blood. The combination is used to treat patients, however, based on animal data, it is also believed to be effective against coronaviruses [1].
An open-label clinical study in China found no benefit in adding lopinavir-ritonavir therapy to standard care [2].
INSERM has initiated DisCoVeRy, a Phase 3 clinical trial of Lopinavir/ritonavir [3] and several other treatments. This study is a multi-center, adaptive, randomized trial of the safety and efficacy of this treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults The study results should be published in March 2023.
References
- Chan, J. F. W., Yao, Y., Yeung, M. L., Deng, W., Bao, L., Jia, L., … & Cai, J. P. (2015). Treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir or interferon-ß1b improves outcome of MERS-CoV infection in a nonhuman primate model of common marmoset. The Journal of infectious diseases, 212(12), 1904-1913.
- Cao, B., Wang, Y., Wen, D., Liu, W., Wang, J., Fan, G., … & Li, X. (2020). A trial of lopinavir–ritonavir in adults hospitalized with severe Covid-19. New England Journal of Medicine.
- DisCoVeRy