Who's targeting the ACE-2 receptor for Covid-19?

Covid-19 may be a novel virus, but on a cellular level, we know the pathogen behaves somewhat like its relatives. Coronaviruses, generally speaking, enter human cells by targeting a receptor called ACE-2, which is now a potential target by drug companies working on potential vaccines or treatments.

Three pharma companies are working on ACE-2-linked drugs, STAT’s Kate Sheridan writes. One, Austria’s Aperion Biologics, has been working on a drug after the first SARS outbreak. The company is expecting trial results on the drug — which works by flooding the body with the ACE-2 enzyme in an attempt to confuse the virus — in late fall.

Two other companies, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Vir Biotechnology, are taking the opposite approach with ACE-2 — using RNA interference to silence the ACE-2 receptor. The idea: Without a receptor to bind to, the virus won’t be able to enter cells.