Coronavirus: Singapore start-up thinks cat leukaemia drug could be Covid-19 cure

The drug, known as Retromad1, has proven effective in treating feline infectious peritonitis virus, which is deadly to cats

It was designed to inhibit an enzyme which dengue, Ebola, HIV and coronaviruses use to infect their host

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A man wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus outbreak carries a kitten on his rucksack in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:08pm, 17 Mar 2020Updated: 6:08pm, 17 Mar 2020

As the race to find effective cures for the novel coronavirus heats up, a biomedical start-up based in Singapore and Malaysia believes it could have the answer – an antiviral drug which has successfully treated coronaviruses and leukaemia in cats.

The drug, known as Retromad1, has proven effective in treating the feline leukaemia virus and the feline infectious peritonitis virus, both of which are deadly to cats.

The latter virus is also known as FeCoV, as it is a coronavirus in the same family as the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease in humans.

Retromad1 is being used by some veterinary clinics in Singapore, said Dr Ng Cher Yew, CEO of Biovalence Technologies, which developed the drug.

An electron microscope image showing the coronavirus at the US National Institutes of Health. Photo: AP

The drug was originally invented to treat herpes in humans, though it has not been officially tested for human use. Biovalence is looking to test how the drug affects the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.