Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, various therapeutic approaches have been explored to tackle the disease. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur have shown that ivermectin, a drug used commercially as an antiparasitic treatment, offers protection from COVID-19 symptoms in an animal model. The scientists observed that taking ivermectin was associated with reduced inflammation in the respiratory tract and an alleviation of the related symptoms. The treatment is also associated with protection against loss of smell. However, the results do not show how ivermectin affects the viral replication of SARS-CoV-2. The findings of the study suggest that ivermectin could be considered as a potential therapeutic agent for COVID-19.
These findings were published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, on the 12th of July 2021.