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A well known leprosy drug is being called an "ideal candidate" for the treatment of COVID-19. Experts, who have been studying over 20 medicines to see if they have properties that would enable them to treat coronaviruses, hope that the drug will soon be available to help patients.

Ongoing research is providing evidence that clofazimine works to block coronaviruses from entering cells and replicating using RNA. A study using hamsters, who were administered the drug after being given COVID, was conducted by researchers at San Diego's Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and at the Univeristy of Hong Kong. It will soon appear in the journal Nature.

Clofazimine is already approved by the FDA for the treatment of leprosy and is on the World Health Organizations list of essential medicines.

Dr Sumit K. Chanda, co-author of the study, told MedicalNewsToday that “Clofazimine is an ideal candidate for a COVID-19 treatment. It is safe, affordable, easy to make, taken as a pill and can be made globally available.”