The Impact of Camostat Mesilate on COVID-19 Infection

SARS-CoV-2, one of a family of human coronaviruses, was initially identified in December 2019 in Wuhan city. This new coronavirus causes a disease presentation which has now been named COVID-19. The virus has subsequently spread throughout the world and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11th March 2020. As of 18 March 2020, there are 198,193 number of confirmed cases with an estimated case-fatality of 3%. There is no approved therapy for COVID-19 and the current standard of care is supportive treatment. SARS-CoV-2 exploits the cell entry receptor protein angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE-2) to access and infect human cells. The interaction between ACE2 and the spike protein is not in the active site. This process requires the serine protease TMPRSS2. Camostat Mesilate is a potent serine protease inhibitor. Utilizing research on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the closely related SARS-CoV-2 cell entry mechanism, it has been demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry can be blocked by camostat mesilate. In mice, camostat mesilate dosed at concentrations similar to the clinically achievable concentration in humans reduced mortality following SARS-CoV infection from 100% to 30-35%.