Other substances

Arbidol

An indole derivative with antiviral properties.

Phase of research

Recommended by China's NHC Guidelines

How it helps

Antiviral

Drug status

Used to treat other disease

Supporting references

Contradictory references

AI-suggested references

Clinical trials

General information

Arbidol is the brand name for an antiviral agent umifenovir, which is used for the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza and other respiratory infections in Russia and China. It is not approved by the FDA. Umifenovir inhibits membrane fusion, which prevents viral entry to the target cell, and therefore protects it from infection. The drug also stimulates the humoral immune response, induces interferon production, and stimulates the phagocytic function of macrophages. Recent studies indicate that umifenovir is effective at preventing entry of ebolavirus, human herpes virus 8, poliovirus and hepatitis B virus.

Regarding SARS-CoV-2, our AIM tool found the data that arbidol could help against SARS-CoV-2 by inhibiting its replication.

Arbidol therapy (200 mg tid for adults, no longer than 10 days) used to be one of the antiviral therapies of COVID-19 recommended by China's National Health Commission guidelines. It is NO longer recomended, however (Gui-Qiang et al., 2021).

Arbidol on DrugBank
Arbidol on PubChem
Arbidol on Wikipedia

Synonyms

Umifenovir

Marketed as

ARBIDOL; ARBIDOLE

CCOC(=O)C1=C(N(C2=CC(=C(C(=C21)CN(C)C)O)Br)C)CSC3=CC=CC=C3

Supporting references

Link	Tested on	Impact factor	Notes	Publication date
CT Manifestations of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia: A Case Report	Patient		Alpha interferon aerosol inhalation (dose for adults: five million U; add sterile water for injection, 2 mL, twice daily) with oral abidol (200 mg for adults, three times a day)	Mar/06/2020
Clinical characteristics and therapeutic procedure for four cases with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia receiving combined Chinese and Western medicine treatment.	Patients		combination of lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra®), arbidol, and Shufeng Jiedu Capsule (SFJDC, a traditional Chinese medicine)	Mar/16/2020
Favipiravir versus Arbidol for COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial	Patients		Arbidol has comparable effects on clinical recovery rate of day 7 with favipiravir, but is less effective in improving the latency to cough relief and decreasing the duration of fever.	Apr/08/2020
Discovering drugs to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).	in silico		oral, 200 mg each time, 3 times/day	Feb/22/2020
The effect of Arbidol Hydrochloride on reducing mortality of Covid-19 patients: a retrospective study of real world date from three hospitals in Wuhan	Patients		even better in combination with oseltamivir	Apr/17/2020
No Clear Benefit to the Use of Corticosteroid as Treatment in Adult Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 : A Retrospective Cohort Study	Patients		in combination with ribavirin	Apr/24/2020
Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 Viral Shedding in Patients with COVID-19 was Associated with Delayed Initiation of Arbidol Treatment: a retrospective cohort study Preprint Cohort study	Patients		Early initiation of arbidol and arbidol combination with interferon is helpful	Jun/10/2020
Treatment with Arbidol and Moxifloxacin in Ordinary and Severe Adult Patients Infected with COVID-19 Severe severity Preprint	Patients		in combination with moxifloxacin	Jun/05/2020
Discovery of Synergistic and Antagonistic Drug Combinations against SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro Preprint In silico	VERO E6 cell cultures		synergistic effect in combination with amodiaquine, nitazocanide, lopinavir and NCGC00411883-01	Jul/01/2020
Identification of Potent and Safe Antiviral Therapeutic Candidates Against SARS-CoV-2 Small molecule In vitro Screening	Vero cells	5.09	arbidol HCl	Nov/25/2020
Effect of Arbidol (Umifenovir) on COVID-19: a randomized controlled trial Small molecule Randomized controlled open trial	Patients	2.69	Patients treated with Arbidol had significantly shorter length of hospital stay compared to lopinavir/ritonavir treatment and improved in various clinical, radiological, and laboratory parameters. There was insignificant difference in some parameters (e. g. time to fever relier, CRP). Sample size: 50 arbidol (hydroxychloroquine on day 1) + 50 lopinavir/ritonavir (hydroxychloroquine on day 1). Dosage: Treatment initiated with two doses of 400 mg hydroxychloroquine on day one; 200 mg of arbidol three times a day for 7 to 14 days. Endpoints: Hospital stay length and clinical improvement on day 7 (primary outcomes).	Dec/14/2020
Efficacy of Early Combination Therapy With Lianhuaqingwen and Arbidol in Moderate and Severe COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study Severe severity Small molecule Moderate severity Cohort study	Patients	3.86	Moderate (but not severe) patients treated with arbidol combined with <a href=	Sep/18/2020
Screening, simulation, and optimization design of small molecule inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein Spike protein Small molecule In silico	in silico	2.74	Predicted to bind SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. The drug's	Jan/25/2021
Unraveling the mechanism of arbidol binding and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2: Insights from atomistic simulations Spike protein ACE2 Small molecule In silico	in silico	3.26	Predicted to bind the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein RBD interface with the host's ACE2 receptor.	Dec/31/2020
Beneficial effect of Arbidol in the management of COVID-19 infection Severe severity Small molecule Critical severity Moderate severity Cohort study	Patients	4.83	A higher rate of clinical improvement was observed in the treatment group compared to control. In a subgroup analysis, this outcome was observed for moderate to severe but not critical COVID-19 patients. The data were collected for infections that occurred in an earlier phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sample size: 228 + 24 control. Dosage: 200 mg three times a day. Primary outcome: (non)Improvement in the clinical status.	Apr/03/2021

Clinical trials

ID	Title	Status	Phase	Start date	Completion date
NCT04350684	Umifenovir in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients	Enrolling by invitation	Phase 4	Apr/15/2020	Apr/24/2020
Alternative id - Umifenovir in COVID-19 Interventions - Drug: Umifenovir\|Drug: Interferon-β 1a\|Drug: Lopinavir / Ritonavir\|Drug: Single Dose of Hydroxychloroquine\|Drug: Standards of Care Study type - Interventional Study results - No Results Available Locations - Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of Study designs - Allocation: Randomized\|Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment\|Masking: Triple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator)\|Primary Purpose: Treatment Enrollment - 40 Age - 18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult) Outcome measures - Time to clinical improvement\|Mortality\|SpO2 Improvement\|Incidence of new mechanical ventilation use\|Duration of hospitalization\|Cumulative incidence of serious adverse events
NCT04260594	Clinical Study of Arbidol Hydrochloride Tablets in the Treatment of Pneumonia Caused by Novel Coronavirus	Completed	Phase 4	Feb/08/2020	Dec/30/2020
Alternative id - Abdrcspc202001 Interventions - Drug: Arbidol\|Other: basic treatment Study type - Interventional Study results - No Results Available Locations - Ruijin Hospital, Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China Study designs - Allocation: Randomized\|Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment\|Masking: None (Open Label)\|Primary Purpose: Treatment Enrollment - 236 Age - 18 Years to 65 Years (Adult, Older Adult) Outcome measures - Virus negative conversion rate in the first week\|Virus negative conversion rate\|Antipyretic rate\|Symptom relief time\|Finger oxygen improvement rate\|Disease progression rate\|Mortality rate\|Incidence of severe adverse reactions\|Change curve of peripheral blood lymphocyte count
NCT04476719	The Bioequivalence Study of Umifenovir 200 mg Capsul (ATABAY, Turkey) Under Fasting Conditions	Active, not recruiting	Phase 1	Jul/09/2020	Aug/20/2020
Alternative id - NOV2020/01918 Interventions - Drug: ATAFENOVIR 200 MG KAPSUL\|Drug: ARBIDOL 100 MG KAPSUL Study type - Interventional Study results - No Results Available Locations - Novagenix Drug R&D Center, Akyurt, Ankara, Turkey\|Farmagen Ar-Ge Biyot. Ltd. Sti., Sahinbey, Gaziantep, Turkey Study designs - Allocation: Randomized\|Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment\|Masking: None (Open Label)\|Primary Purpose: Other Enrollment - 18 Age - 20 Years to 40 Years (Adult) Outcome measures - Primary PK Endpoint\|Secondary PK Endpoint
NCT04252885	The Efficacy of Lopinavir Plus Ritonavir and Arbidol Against Novel Coronavirus Infection	Completed	Phase 4	Jan/28/2020	May/31/2020
Alternative id - GZ8H-V1.0 20200122 Interventions - Drug: Lopinavir and Ritonavir Tablets\|Drug: Arbidol Study type - Interventional Study results - No Results Available Locations - Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China Study designs - Allocation: Randomized\|Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment\|Masking: None (Open Label)\|Primary Purpose: Treatment Enrollment - 86 Age - 18 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Older Adult) Outcome measures - The rate of virus inhibition\|The disease prorogation-temperature\|The disease prorogation-respiratory function 1\|The disease prorogation-respiratory function 2\|The disease prorogation-respiratory function 3
NCT04286503	The Clinical Study of Carrimycin on Treatment Patients With COVID-19	Unknown status	Phase 4	Feb/23/2020	Feb/28/2021
Alternative id - BeijingYouan Hospital Interventions - Drug: Carrimycin\|Drug: lopinavir/ritonavir tablets or Arbidol or chloroquine phosphate\|Drug: basic treatment Study type - Interventional Study results - No Results Available Locations - Study designs - Allocation: Randomized\|Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment\|Masking: None (Open Label)\|Primary Purpose: Treatment Enrollment - 520 Age - 18 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Older Adult) Outcome measures - Fever to normal time (day)\|Pulmonary inflammation resolution time (HRCT) (day)\|Negative conversion (%) of 2019-nCOVRNA in gargle (throat swabs) at the end of treatment
NCT04273763	Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of Bromhexine Hydrochloride Tablets Combined With Standard Treatment/ Standard Treatment in Patients With Suspected and Mild Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (COVID-19)	Active, not recruiting	Not Applicable	Feb/16/2020	Jun/01/2020
Alternative id - 2019NCP1.0 Interventions - Drug: Bromhexine Hydrochloride Tablets\|Drug: Arbidol Hydrochloride Granules\|Drug: Recombinant Human Interferon α2b Spray Study type - Interventional Study results - No Results Available Locations - The Second AffIliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China Study designs - Allocation: Randomized\|Intervention Model: Sequential Assignment\|Masking: None (Open Label)\|Primary Purpose: Treatment Enrollment - 18 Age - 18 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Older Adult) Outcome measures - Time to clinical recovery after treatment\|Rate of aggravation\|Clinical remission rate\|Dynamic changes of oxygenation index\|Time to cure\|rate to cure\|Time to defervescence\|Time to cough remission\|Time to dyspnea remission\|Days of supplemental oxygenation\|Rate of patients with requring supplemental oxygen\|Rate of patients with mechanical ventilation\|Time of negative COVID-19 nucleic acid results\|Rate of negative COVID-19 nucleic acid results\|Rate of ICU admission\|28-day mortality

Export (.csv)