A drug treatment that acts as a decoy against SARS-CoV-2 was highly effective at preventing death and lung damage in humanized animal models of severe COVID-19 disease, according to a Nature Chemical Biology study from researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago. The study suggests that the drug has the potential to treat COVID-19 patients, including those who are infected with aggressive SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The study's senior lead author is Asrar Malik, professor in the department of pharmacology and regenerative medicine at the UIC College of Medicine. Jalees Rehman, professor in the department of pharmacology and regenerative medicine and the department of medicine, is a co-lead author of the study, "Engineered ACE2 decoy mitigates lung injury and death induced by SARS-CoV-2 variants."

"While vaccines remain the best option for preventing infections, long-term complications and death from COVID-19, there is an urgent need for the development of effective treatments for vulnerable patients, especially as new variants continue to arise," Rehman said.

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