COVID-19 Drugs: German Study Confirms The Antiviral Effects Of Budesonide Against The SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus And Even Against Emerging Variants

Another study finding has emerged proving the antiviral effects of Budesonide when used either as an inhaler or as a nasal spray.

 
German researchers from the Ruhr-University Bochum and also from the European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC) based in Jena-Germany have in a new study confirmed the viral effects of Budesonide against the wildtype SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and even against the alpha and beta variants.
 
While the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and its emerging variants continue to ravage the world, treatments options are currently severely limited. Hence there is a dire need for antiviral drugs that efficiently reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication or alleviate COVID-19 symptoms.
 
The study team aimed to analyze a potential antiviral activity of budesonide against SARS-CoV-2 and circulating variants of concern (VOC) B.1.1.7 (alpha) and B.1.351 (beta).
 
The study findings showed that a dose-dependent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 that was comparable between all viral variants tested while cell viability remains unaffected.
 
The study findings are encouraging as they could indicate a multimodal mode of action of budesonide against SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, which could contribute to an improved clinical performance.
 
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Viruses
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/7/1411/htm
 
Thailand medical news had brought up the issue of using budesonide and other inhaled steroids to treat COVID-19 in mid 2020.
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-drugs-queensland-university-of-technology-and-oxford-university-exploring-budesonide-inhaler-therapy-for-early-covid-19-patients-in-new-trial
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-drugs-study-trial-of-inhaled-corticosteroids-formoterol-budesonide-shows-potential-as-prophylactic-and-treatment-drugs
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/coronavirus-treatments-japanese-study-indicates-ciclesonide,-an-inhaled-steroid-has-potential-for-covid-19-treatment-after-positive-vitro-study

Please help support this website, our research initiatives and also our community projects during this difficult times by making a donation. https://www.thailandmedical.news/p/sponsorship ;  Your donation directly helps to saves lives directly or indirectly. Do not just read and ignore our calls for help. Thank You.
 
A University of Oxford randomized clinical trial early this year showed that Budesonide usage reduced the risk of severe COVID-19.
 
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-drugs-oxford-randomized-trial-shows-that-inhaled-budenosonide-reduces-risk-of-covid-19-severity-and-hospitalization-when-used-early
 
Thailand Medical News has been advocating the use of budesonide nasal sprays as a prophylaxis against COVID-19 and using the inhaled version when infected to have faster viral clearance and also to prevent disease severity.
 
The drug Budesonide is a non-halogenated glucocorticoid that is a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug. Typically, budesonide is administered through the inhalation route to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma and moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
 
A recent study had shown that the inhalation of a total daily dose of 1600 micrograms (µg) of budesonide successfully reduced the recovery times of mild COVID-19 patients. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213260021001600
 
Various other studies have shown budesonide to exert an in vitro antiviral activity against human rhinovirus infection and reduce the cytopathic effect of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-CoV infected cells. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29407486/
 
https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/JVI.01648-20
 
Interestingly the inhibitory effect of budesonide, when used in combination with glycopyrronium and formoterol, against the seasonal human coronavirus (HCoV)-229E has also been documented. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212534520300058

It should also be noted that past studies showed that budesonide improved lung mechanics and oxygenation when patients with ARDS were nebulized with budesonide. They also observed a significant reduction of inflammation markers TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28217046/
 
In fact, corticosteroids such as budesonide have been recognized in numerous past studies to exhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. For instance, budesonide has been found to inhibit early innate antiviral immune responses in vitro, suggesting that corticosteroids might restrict excessive inflammation. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0027898
 
Various clinical trials with asthma patients demonstrated beneficial effects of inhaled budesonide on airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/ajrccm.163.1.9807061
 
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/ajrccm.162.3.9910077
 
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1513/AnnalsATS.201307-220OC
 
However despite these studies and advancements, a direct effect of budesonide on SARS-CoV-2 had not yet been studied nor reported.
 
The German study examines the in vitro antiviral effect of pure budesonide and Pulmicort®, which is a budesonide suspension, against the SARS-CoV-2 wildtype (WT), as well as two VoCs including the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), and B1.351 (Beta) strains.
 
For the study, Vero E6 cells were treated with budesonide or Pulmicort® in concentrations of 0.1, 1, 5, and 25 micromolar (µM) or the control vehicle. Following the treatment, cells were infected with either the SARS-CoV-2 WT strain, or one of the VoCs. Twenty-four hours post-infection, viral titers were determined by using a limited dilution assay and calculated by the Spearman–Kärber method. The CytoTox 96® nonradioactive cytotoxicity assay (Promega) was also used to measure cytotoxicity.

Please help support this website, our research initiatives and also our community projects during this difficult times by making a donation. https://www.thailandmedical.news/p/sponsorship  Your donation directly helps to saves lives directly or indirectly. Do not just read and ignore our calls for help. Thank You.
 
The study team observed that treatment with higher concentrations of budesonide, both the pure version as well as Pulmicort®, exhibited antiviral activity and reduced viral titers when compared to the control group.
 
Importantly a significant reduction in viral titers was observed for all three variants post-treatment with Pulmicort® at a concentration of 25 µM. Non-linear regressions revealed comparable results for all SARS-COV-2 variants with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50).
 
Also the cytotoxicity assay showed no effects on the cell viability of the administered compounds as compared to solvent-only treated cells.
 
The study findings concluded that budesonide can significantly reduce SARS-CoV-2 titers in vitro.
 
The study findings are in accordance with previous studies that have shown that the inhalation of corticosteroid ciclesonide suppressed the genetic replication of SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV by targeting the viral replication-transcription complex in human bronchial tracheal epithelial cells.
 
The present study did not discuss the mechanism by which budesonide brings about a reduction in viral titers. Further experiments with more authentic model systems are required to gain a deeper understanding of the antiviral activity of budesonide.
 
For those planning to procure Budesonide, do so fast as certain governments  worldwide and health authorities in cohorts with the bigger drug companies and vaccine manufacturers have a habit of upgrading the classification of common and cheap OTC drugs when studies emerge that they can be repurposed to treat COVID-19, hence making it difficult for people to get their hands on them. For example, Ivermectin (for humans) as of five weeks ago has been upgraded in many South-East Asian countries and no longer available for sale in pharmacies.
 
Warning: Before using budesonide, always consult a licensed doctor. (Provided they know anything! Some “ignorant dinosaurs ‘are unaware of the latest developments in the medical and research world and simply stick to the stupid protocols prescribed by the corrupted seniors with vested interests at the health ministries of certain countries. It is hilarious to see in certain South-East Asian countries, stupid ignorant people singing praises on clueless doctors who are actually killing them when it comes to COVID-19 treatments!

Also note as with all steroids, use sparingly and only when in high risk situations and do not use too often as excessive steroid use can give rise to many medical issues.

Please help support this website, our research initiatives and also our community projects during this difficult times by making a donation. https://www.thailandmedical.news/p/sponsorship  Your donation directly helps to saves lives directly or indirectly. Do not just read and ignore our calls for help. Thank You.

For the latest on COVID-19 drugs, keep on logging to Thailand Medical News.