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TMPRSS2 inhibitors for COVID-19
29 studies with >19,000 patients
Serious outcome risk
TMPRSS2 inhibitors
Control
Significantly lower risk for mortality, ventilation, and recovery.
7 studies from 7 independent teams in 5 countries show significant benefit.
COVID-19 TMPRSS2 studies · October 2026
Covid Analysis TMPRSS2 inhibitors reduce COVID-19 risk: real-time meta-analysis of 29 studies
Significantly lower risk is seen for mortality, ventilation, and recovery. 7 studies from 7 independent teams in 5 countries show significant benefit. Meta-analysis using the most serious outcome reported shows 23% [10‑33%] low..
Feb 12
2025
 Saha et al., Viruses, doi:10.3390/v17020252 Inhaled Dry Powder of Antiviral Agents: A Promising Approach to Treating Respiratory Viral Pathogens
Review of inhaled dry powder antiviral formulations for treating respiratory viral infections, focusing on COVID-19. Authors explain that traditional antiviral tablets face limitations including systemic side effects and delayed onset of ..
Jan 31
2025
 Baby et al., Scientifica, doi:10.1155/sci5/3687892 Exploring TMPRSS2 Drug Target to Combat Influenza and Coronavirus Infection
Review of TMPRSS2 as a drug target to combat influenza and coronavirus infections. Authors highlight that TMPRSS2, a transmembrane serine protease coexpressed with ACE2 receptors in the human respiratory tract, plays a critical role in vi..
Nov 21
2024
 Haque et al., Discover Molecules, doi:10.1007/s44345-024-00005-5 Exploring potential therapeutic candidates against COVID-19: a molecular docking study
In silico study showing potential inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 proteins by various compounds including dactinomycin, itraconazole, ivermectin, vitamin D, quercetin, curcumin, montelukast, bromhexine, hesperidin, EGCG and raloxifene. Authors p..
Oct 25
2024
 Mitev et al., Immunity, Inflammation and Disease, doi:10.1002/iid3.70438 COVID‐19 Prophylactic Effect of Bromhexine Hydrochloride
Retrospective 125 outpatients showing reduced COVID-19 infection rates with prophylactic bromhexine hydrochloride (BRH) use during 2021-2022 COVID waves in Bulgaria. Prior to BRH prophylaxis, 62% of participants reported confirmed COVID-1..
Mar 28
2024
 Bryce et al., NCT04470544 RECOVER: Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind Trial TREating Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 With Camostat MesilatE, a TMPRSS2 Inhibitor
25% lower mortality (p=1). RCT 100 patients showing no significant difference with camostat. Results are currently unclear - different mortality numbers were provided for all-cause mortality and mortality rate (2/50 vs. 3/46 for the treatment group at 28 days, with..
Mar 28
2024
 Yathindranath et al., International Journal of Nanomedicine, doi:10.2147/IJN.S448005 Lipid Nanoparticle-Based Inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 Host Cell Infection
In vitro study showing that lactoferrin, camostat mesylate, and carrageenan inhibit SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infection in airway epithelial Calu-3 cells. All show dose-dependent inhibition. The study focuses on novel LNP formulations and t..
Mar 14
2024
 Wannigama et al., eClinicalMedicine, 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102517 Early treatment with fluvoxamine, bromhexine, cyproheptadine, and niclosamide to prevent clinical deterioration in patients with symptomatic COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial
98% lower ventilation (p<0.0001), 100% lower need for oxygen therapy (p<0.0001), 98% lower hospitalization (p<0.0001), and 55% lower long COVID (p<0.0001). RCT 995 outpatients showing significantly lower progression with early treatment within 48 hours using fluvoxamine, fluvoxamine+bromhexine, fluvoxamine+cyproheptadine, and niclosamide+bromhexine. 70% of patients received treatment within ..
Feb 14
2024
 González-Paz et al., ACS Omega, doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c06968 Biophysical Analysis of Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Cell Recognition and Their Effect on Viral Dynamics in Different Cell Types: A Computational Prediction from In Vitro Experimental Data
In silico study showing that nafamostat, camostat, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, telmisartan, and captopril may be beneficial for COVID-19 by inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and replication in multiple cell types expressing ACE2 and T..
Nov 20
2023
 Tare et al., BJGP Open, doi:10.3399/bjgpo.2023.0109 The DAWN antivirals trial: process evaluation of a COVID-19 trial in general practice
33% improved recovery (p=0.7). Small early terminated RCT showing better recovery with camostat treatment, without statistical significance.
Oct 24
2023
 Morpeth et al., NEJM Evidence, doi:10.1056/EVIDoa2300132 A Randomized Trial of Nafamostat for Covid-19
55% lower ventilation (p=0.23), 57% lower progression (p=0.14), and 28% improved recovery (p=0.36). RCT 160 hospitalized non-critically ill COVID-19 patients showing a 93% posterior probability that nafamostat reduced the odds of death or receipt of ventilatory or vasopressor support by day 28 compared to usual care. Nafamostat, a TMPRS..
Oct 20
2023
 Mitev, V., Pharmacia, doi:10.3897/pharmacia.70.e112550 Comparison of treatment of COVID-19 with inhaled bromhexine, higher doses of colchicine and hymecromone with WHO-recommended paxlovid, molnupiravir, remdesivir, anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies and baricitinib
Review of treatment of COVID-19 with inhaled bromhexine, higher doses of colchicine and hymecromone compared to WHO-recommended paxlovid, molnupiravir, remdesivir, anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies, and baricitinib. The author argues that the..
Oct 19
2023
 Seccia et al., Journal of Clinical Medicine, doi:10.3390/jcm12206618 RAndomized Clinical Trial Of NAfamostat Mesylate, A Potent Transmembrane Protease Serine 2 (TMPRSS2) Inhibitor, in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia
67% lower mortality (p=1) and 20% improved recovery (p=1). RCT 15 hospitalized COVID-19 patients showing a positive safety profile with nafamostat mesylate treatment. While the study was underpowered to detect differences in efficacy, Bayesian analysis suggested a signal for potential benefit (69..
Sep 30
2023
 Okugawa et al., International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2023.106922 Antiviral effect and safety of nafamostat mesilate in patients with mild early-onset COVID-19: An exploratory multicentre randomized controlled clinical trial
33% improved viral clearance (p=0.007). RCT 30 early-onset COVID-19 patients showing significantly improved viral load reduction with nafamostat.
Jun 5
2023
 Jilg et al., Clinical Infectious Diseases, doi:10.1093/cid/ciad342 One Week of Oral Camostat Versus Placebo in Nonhospitalized Adults With Mild-to-Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Randomized Controlled Phase 2 Trial
18% higher hospitalization (p=1), 10% lower progression (p=0.11), and 13% improved recovery (p=0.7). RCT 216 patients, 55% >5 days from symptom onset, showing no significant difference with camostat treatment. Longer-term mortality results are from the registry and are not shown in the paper.
Feb 8
2023
 Seydi et al., NCT04390594 Multicentre, Open Label, Randomised, Adaptative Clinical Trial of Efficacy and Safety of Treatment Regimens in Adult COVID-19 Patients in Senegal
59 patient TMPRSS2 inhibitor late treatment RCT with results not reported over 3 years after completion.
Jan 24
2023
 Kim et al., Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, doi:10.1128/aac.00452-22 A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Clinical Study To Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Camostat Mesylate (DWJ1248) in Adult Patients with Mild to Moderate COVID-19
8% faster recovery (p=0.54). Double-blind RCT with 342 mild to moderate COVID-19 outpatients in South Korea, showing no significant difference in time to clinical improvement with camostat mesylate. In a post-hoc subgroup analysis of high-risk patients, there were..
Jan 3
2023
 Ghayour et al., Research Square, doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2309373/v2 Evaluation of the recovery rate and prevention of hospitalization among covid-19 outpatients: a randomized clinical trial comparing N-acetylcysteine with Bromhexine
93% lower mortality (p=0.01), 88% lower hospitalization (p<0.0001), and 28% faster recovery (p<0.0001). RCT 225 outpatients in Iran showing lower mortality and hospitalization, and faster recovery with N-acetylcysteine and bromhexine. Baseline information per group is not provided, Figure 1 has the control group hospitalization status switc..
Dec 26
2022
 Martins et al., bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2022.12.23.521817 In Vitro Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Bromhexine hydrochloride
In vitro study showing that bromhexine inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication in vitro by blocking the host cell protease TMPRSS2.
Dec 24
2022
 Vila Méndez et al., Journal of Clinical Medicine, doi:10.3390/jcm12010142 Efficacy of Bromhexine versus Standard of Care in Reducing Viral Load in Patients with Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19 Disease Attended in Primary Care: A Randomized Open-Label Trial
67% lower hospitalization (p=0.49) and 7% worse viral clearance (p=0.82). RCT 191 low risk (no mortality) outpatients in Spain, showing no significant differences with bromhexine. Authors note that "statistical differences between the study groups were observed in the percentage of patients treated with..
Sep 30
2022
 Tobback et al., International Journal of Infectious Diseases, doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2022.06.054 Efficacy and safety of camostat mesylate in early COVID-19 disease in an ambulatory setting: a randomized placebo-controlled phase II trial
36% higher hospitalization (p=1) and 8% improved recovery (p=0.84). RCT 90 outpatients showing no significant difference in viral load or time to clinical improvement with camostat mesylate. The trial was discontinued early and did not reach the intended sample size. Authors note that combining camostat w..
Sep 30
2022
 Soma et al., Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases, doi:10.7883/yoken.JJID.2021.699 Nafamostat Mesylate Monotherapy in Patients with Moderate COVID-19: a Single-Center, Retrospective Study
80% lower mortality (p=0.49) and 6% higher severe cases (p=1). Retrospective 64 hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 showing no significant difference in clinical outcomes with nafamostat mesylate.
Sep 27
2022
 Kinoshita et al., BMC Medicine, doi:10.1186/s12916-022-02518-7 A multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of camostat mesilate in patients with COVID-19 (CANDLE study)
67% lower progression (p=1), 50% lower need for oxygen therapy (p=0.37), 1% worse recovery (p=1), and 1% worse viral clearance (p=0.97). RCT 155 hospitalized patients showing no significant differences with camostat.
Aug 1
2022
 Kim et al., NCT04871646 A Double-blind, Multi-center, Multi-regional, Randomized Controlled, Phase 3 Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of CKD-314 in Hospitalized Adult Patients Diagnosed With COVID-19
Estimated 586 patient TMPRSS2 inhibitor late treatment RCT with results not reported over 4 years after estimated completion.
Jul 22
2022
 Karolyi et al., Frontiers in Pharmacology, doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.870493 Camostat Mesylate Versus Lopinavir/Ritonavir in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19—Results From a Randomized, Controlled, Open Label, Platform Trial (ACOVACT)
72% lower mortality (p=0.1), 70% lower ventilation (p=0.02), 60% lower combined mortality/intubation (p=0.04), and 18% faster recovery (p=0.005). RCT 201 hospitalized COVID-19 patients showing faster clinical improvement, less progression to mechanical ventilation or death, and shorter hospital stay with camostat mesylate compared to lopinavir/ritonavir. There was also a trend towa..
Jun 30
2022
 Umar et al., Jurnal Teknologi Laboratorium, doi:10.29238/teknolabjournal.v11i1.344 Inhibitory potentials of ivermectin, nafamostat, and camostat on spike protein and some nonstructural proteins of SARS-CoV-2: Virtual screening approach
In silico study of ivermectin, camostat, and nafamostat, showing that ivermectin had the best inhibitory action on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and Nsp10, while nafamostat had the best results for the other non-structural proteins. Author..
Jun 3
2022
 Terada et al., eClinicalMedicine, doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101484 Favipiravir, camostat, and ciclesonide combination therapy in patients with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia with/without oxygen therapy: An open-label, single-center phase 3 randomized clinical trial
8% lower progression (p=1) and 40% higher hospital discharge (p=0.04). RCT 117 hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 pneumonia in Japan, showing a shorter time to discharge with favipiravir, camostat, and ciclesonide combination therapy compared to favipiravir monotherapy. Subgroup analysis showed gre..
Mar 3
2022
 Dhaliwal et al., NCT04455815 A Randomised Phase II Trial in Early COVID-19, Assessing Use of Camostat by Blocking SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein-initiated Membrane Fusion
14% lower hospitalization (p=1). Early terminated RCT with 34 patients showing no significant differences with camostat treatment.
Feb 28
2022
 Quinn et al., eBioMedicine, doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.103856 Randomised controlled trial of intravenous nafamostat mesylate in COVID pneumonitis: Phase 1b/2a experimental study to investigate safety, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
48% longer hospitalization (p=0.21). RCT 42 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonitis showing no benefit with intravenous nafamostat mesylate.
Feb 7
2022
 Schultz et al., Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04482-x Pyrimidine inhibitors synergize with nucleoside analogues to block SARS-CoV-2
In vitro and mouse study showing synergistic antiviral effects when combining pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitors with antiviral nucleoside analogues against SARS-CoV-2. Authors screened 18 thousand drugs and validated 122 with antiviral a..
Jan 31
2022
 Chupp et al., medRxiv, doi:10.1101/2022.01.28.22270035 A Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of Oral Camostat Mesylate for Early Treatment of COVID-19 Outpatients Showed Shorter Illness Course and Attenuation of Loss of Smell and Taste
37% improved recovery (p=0.15). RCT 70 outpatients showing significantly lower symptom scores at day 6, faster recovery, and improved taste/smell, and fatigue with camostat treatment. There was no significant difference for viral load. The recovery result is from..
Jan 12
2022
 Unal et al., bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2022.01.11.475889 Favipiravir, umifenovir and camostat mesylate: a comparative study against SARS-CoV-2
In vitro and in silico study showing that the combination of favipiravir and umifenovir or camostat mesylate has greater antiviral efficacy than single drug treatment.
Dec 31
2021
 Hempel et al., Chemical Science, doi:10.1039/D1SC01494C Synergistic inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 cell entry by otamixaban and covalent protease inhibitors: pre-clinical assessment of pharmacological and molecular properties
In vitro study showing that otamixaban inhibits SARS-CoV-2 cell entry through TMPRSS2 inhibition. Authors found otamixaban to be a weak TMPRSS2 inhibitor in cell culture (IC50 of 18.7 μM) compared to camostat (IC50 of 151.1 nM) and nafamo..
Dec 26
2021
 Inokuchi et al., Journal of Clinical Medicine, doi:10.3390/jcm11010116 Association between Nafamostat Mesylate and In-Hospital Mortality in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Multicenter Observational Study
27% higher mortality (p=0.52). Retrospective multicenter observational study of 15,859 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Japan showing no significant difference in in-hospital mortality with nafamostat mesylate. Very few patients received treatment and they had more se..
Dec 20
2021
 Tolouian et al., SSRN, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3989 Bromhexine, for Post Exposure COVID-19 Prophylaxis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Control Trial
70% lower hospitalization (p=0.15), 53% fewer symptomatic cases (p=0.007), and 50% fewer cases (p=0.03). PEP RCT with 372 close contacts of COVID+ patients, 187 treated with bromhexine, showing significantly lower cases with treatment. IRCT20120703010178N22.
Dec 2
2021
 Boutboul et al., NCT04608266 A Multicenter Randomized Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Camostat Mesylate for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infection - COVID-19 in Ambulatory Adult Patients (CAMOVID)
70 patient TMPRSS2 inhibitor early treatment RCT with results not reported over 4 years after completion.
Nov 30
2021
 Zhuravel et al., eClinicalMedicine, doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101169 Nafamostat in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomised Phase II clinical trial
76% lower mortality (p=0.2), 42% greater improvement (p=0.28), and 42% improved recovery (p=0.28). RCT 104 hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia showing no significant difference in the primary endpoint of time to clinical improvement with nafamostat. However, in patients with baseline National Early Warning ..
Jun 30
2021
 Granados-Montiel et al., BMJ Open, doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045190 New prophylaxis regimen for SARS-CoV-2 infection in health professionals with low doses of hydroxychloroquine and bromhexine: a randomised, double-blind placebo clinical trial (ELEVATE Trial)
Estimated 214 participant TMPRSS2 inhibitor + HCQ prophylaxis RCT with results not reported over 5 years after estimated completion.
May 31
2021
 Gunst et al., eClinicalMedicine, doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100849 Efficacy of the TMPRSS2 inhibitor camostat mesilate in patients hospitalized with Covid-19-a double-blind randomized controlled trial
18% lower mortality (p=0.75), 31% lower ventilation (p=0.65), 20% lower ICU admission (p=0.61), and 15% improved recovery (p=0.28). RCT 205 hospitalized patients showing no significant benefit with camostat. There was a trend towards lower risk of ICU admission or death in the camostat group (10% vs. 18% for placebo), but the study was not powered for this endpoint. V..
May 15
2021
 Parsonnet et al., NCT04524663 A Phase 2 Randomized, Double Blinded, Placebo Controlled Study of Oral Camostat Mesilate Compared to Standard of Care in Subjects With Mild-Moderate COVID-19
35% improved recovery (p=0.24), 86% improvement (p=0.11), and 41% improved viral clearance (p=0.24). RCT 49 outpatients in the USA, showing no significant differences with camostat treatment.
Apr 30
2021
 Sgrignani et al., Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.666626 Computational Identification of a Putative Allosteric Binding Pocket in TMPRSS2
In silico study of TMPRSS2 inhibition by camostat, nafamostat, and bromhexine, suggesting allosteric binding for bromhexine, compared to camostat and nafamostat which bind to the active site of TMPRSS2 forming covalent adducts.
Apr 30
2021
 Bae et al., NCT04418128 Treatment Effect of Nafamostat Mesylate in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia: Open Labelled Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Estimated 84 patient TMPRSS2 inhibitor late treatment RCT with results not reported over 5 years after estimated completion.
Apr 12
2021
 Sakr et al., Intensive Care Medicine, doi:10.1007/s00134-021-06395-1 Camostat mesylate therapy in critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
69% lower mortality (p=0.001), 10% lower ventilation (p=1), and 17% longer hospitalization (p=0.35). Retrospective 371 critically ill COVID-19 patients showing lower mortality with camostat mesylate treatment.
Apr 5
2021
 Kim et al., NCT04628143 Open-label, Multi-center, Randomized Controlled, Phase 2 Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of CKD-314 in Hospitalized Adult Patients Diagnosed With COVID-19
13 patient TMPRSS2 inhibitor late treatment RCT with results not reported over 5 years after completion.
Mar 31
2021
 Sagent Pharmaceuticals, NCT04583592 A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Efficacy of Camostat Mesilate for Treatment of COVID-19 in Outpatients
152% higher mortality (p=1), 13% lower progression (p=0.79), and 16% improved viral clearance (p=0.36). RCT 295 outpatients in the USA, showing no significant differences with camostat.
Mar 15
2021
 Tolouian et al., J. Investig. Med., doi:10.1136/jim-2020-001747 Effect of bromhexine in hospitalized patients with COVID-19
76% lower mortality (p=0.43), 76% greater improvement (p=0.43), and 75% worse viral clearance (p=0.02). Small RCT with 100 patients, 48 with bromhexine added to SOC, showing slower viral- conversion but lower mortality and greater clinical improvement with bromhexine (not statistically significant with few deaths and very high recovery). Th..
Mar 8
2021
 Mikhaylov et al., Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases, doi:10.1155/2022/4693121 (date from preprint) Bromhexine Hydrochloride Prophylaxis of COVID-19 for Medical Personnel: A Randomized Open-Label Study
91% fewer symptomatic cases (p=0.05) and 71% fewer cases (p=0.14). Small prophylaxis RCT with 25 treatment and 25 control health care workers, showing lower PCR+, symptomatic cases, and hospitalization with treatment, although not statistically significant with the small sample size.
Jan 31
2021
 Carpinteiro et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, doi:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100701 Inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase by ambroxol prevents SARS-CoV-2 entry into epithelial cells
In vitro study showing that ambroxol (a metabolite of bromhexine) inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Dec 31
2020
 Al-Kuraishy et al., Current Medical and Drug Research The potential role of Bromhexine in the management of COVID-19: Decipher and a real game-changer
Review article noting that bromhexine is a TMPRSS2 inhibitor with greater effect in lung tissue and attenuates the entry and proliferation of SARS-CoV-2.
Dec 19
2020
 Huh et al., International Journal of Infectious Diseases, doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2020.12.041 Association of prescribed medications with the risk of COVID-19 infection and severity among adults in South Korea
14% more cases (p=0.84). Retrospective database analysis showing no significant differences with camostat use.
Dec 3
2020
 Mareev et al., Кардиология, doi:10.18087/cardio.2020.11.n1440 Results of Open-Label non-Randomized Comparative Clinical Trial: “BromhexIne and Spironolactone for CoronаvirUs Infection requiring hospiTalization (BISCUIT)
11% improved recovery (p=0.47), 8% shorter hospitalization (p=0.35), and 87% improved viral clearance (p=0.08). Prospective 103 PCR+ patients in Russia, 33 treated with bromexhine+spironolactone, showing lower PCR+ at day 10 or hospitalization >10 days with treatment. Bromhexine 8mg 4 times daily, spironolactone 25-50 mg/day for 10 days.
Sep 3
2020
 Li et al., Clinical and Translational Science, doi:10.1111/cts.12881 Bromhexine Hydrochloride Tablets for the Treatment of Moderate COVID-19: An Open-Label Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
75% higher hospital discharge (p=0.11) and 3% slower recovery. Tiny RCT with 12 bromhexine and 6 control patients showing non-statistically significant improvements in chest CT, need for oxygen therapy, and discharge rate within 20 days. Authors recommend a larger scale trial.
Jul 31
2020
 Mežnar et al., NCT04355026 Use of Bromhexine and Hydroxychloroquine for Treatment of COVID-19 Pneumonia
Estimated 90 patient TMPRSS2 inhibitor + HCQ late treatment RCT with results not reported over 6 years after estimated completion.
Jul 19
2020
 Ansarin et al., Bioimpacts, doi:10.34172/bi.2020.27 Effect of bromhexine on clinical outcomes and mortality in COVID-19 patients: A randomized clinical trial
91% lower mortality (p=0.05), 89% lower ventilation (p=0.01), and 82% lower ICU admission (p=0.01). RCT with 39 bromhexine and 39 control patients showing lower mortality, intubation, and ICU admission with treatment. The treatment group received bromhexine hydrochloride 8 mg three times a day for two weeks. All patients received SOC in..
May 26
2020
 Depfenhart et al., Internal and Emergency Medicine, doi:10.1007/s11739-020-02383-3 Potential new treatment strategies for COVID-19: is there a role for bromhexine as add-on therapy?
Proposal to use bromhexine to inhibit TMPRSS2-specific viral entry for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19.
Apr 30
2020
 Habtemariam et al., Pharmacol. Res., doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104853 Possible use of the mucolytic drug, bromhexine hydrochloride, as a prophylactic agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection based on its action on the Transmembrane Serine Protease 2
Note on the potential use of bromhexine hydrochloride for prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2, based on the role of TMPRSS2 in SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the TMPRSS2 inhibition of bromhexine hydrochloride.
Apr 22
2020
 Maggio et al., Pharmacol Res., doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2020.104837 Repurposing the mucolytic cough suppressant and TMPRSS2 protease inhibitor bromhexine for the prevention and management of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Proposal to use bromhexine for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19 based on TMPRSS2 inhibition, widespread clinical use, and supporting pharmacokinetic and safety data.
Mar 5
2020
 Hoffman et al., Cell, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.052 SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry Depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and Is Blocked by a Clinically Proven Protease Inhibitor
In vitro study showing that SARS-CoV-2 uses ACE2 for entry and TMPRSS2 for S protein priming, and that TMPRSS2 inhibitor camostat blocked entry and may be an effective treaetment.