MARAVIROC

What is maraviroc (Selzentry)?

Maraviroc is a medication used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in both children and adults. It works by binding to a receptor on HIV, prohibiting it from entering the cells [1]. Maraviroc is not a stand-alone treatment and must be used in combination with other HIV medications.

How does the use of maraviroc relate to long-COVID?

For patients with long-COVID, treatment options are limited and undefined. Researchers have turned to existing medication therapies in hopes they prove useful. Maraviroc is one option that may be beneficial. In long-COVID, it is theorized that a person is not actively infected but is still shedding the virus in the body. By using maraviroc, the virus will be inhibited from entering the cells, leading to viral death and remission for the patient.

Few studies have determined whether Maraviroc shows benefits. The few that have been completed did show some promise. One study looked at 18 patients prescribed maraviroc and pravastatin, a medication used to lower cholesterol. These patients displayed clinical improvement in symptoms after 12 weeks of treatment. Unfortunately, before this study, these patients used other potential long-COVID treatments, thus confounding whether these results were due to maraviroc, pravastatin, or other therapies [2].

Maraviroc may be a potential option to treat long-term COVID; however, further research needs to be completed to examine its effects on the virus itself. At this time, two additional clinical studies aiming to examine the use of maraviroc in COVID-19 patients have been completed; however, results from these studies are not yet available [3].

References:

¹http://www.antimicrobe.org/drugpopup/Maraviroc.htm

²https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9944830/

³https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04435522?term=COVID&cond=Maraviroc&city=&rank=1

Active Clinical Trials: Long COVID, maraviroc | Card Results | ClinicalTrials.gov