SARS-CoV-2 clearance in the brain and lungs of K18-hACE2 mice after intranasal liposomal remdesivir

Introduction: A huge challenge after the emergence of COVID-19 has been the discovery of effective antiviral drugs. Although remdesivir (RDV) emerged as one of the most promising drugs, its pharmaceutical formulation Veklury® is limited by moderate efficacy, high toxicity and need for parenteral administration [1]. Since the nasal cavity and lungs represent primary sites of infection, intranasal (IN) instillation or inhalation appears promising for early treatment of COVID-19 [2]. In this context, nanoformulations of RDV have been developed [3], however, their in vivo efficacy has not yet been reported.

Sabrina Mendes, MSc – PhD Student, Dept. Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Lays Guimaraes, MSc – PhD Student, Dept Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Clara Fernandez, MSc – PhD student, Dept Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Leonardo De Oliveira, Ph.D. – Post-doc, Dept Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Pedro Costa, Ph.D. – Post-doc, Dept. Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Natália da Silva, MSc – PhD Student, Dept. Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Gabriel Pereira, B.M. – undergraduate student, Dept. Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Robson Santos, Ph.D. – Full professor, Dept. Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Vivian Costa, Ph.D. – Professor, Dept Morphology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Mauro Teixeira, Ph.D. – Full professor, Dept Biochemistry and Immunology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Pedro Guimaraes, Ph.D. – Professor, Dept. Physiology and Biophysics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais