Heroes of the Pandemic 08: Dr. Gerry Wright - Pushing back on COVID-19 with potential cocktail treatment
Dr. Gerry Wright has always been passionate about controlling infections. And, it is what currently drives him to help the world push back and deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
He and a team of experts in virology, drug discovery and human genetics received nearly $1 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to tackle the COVID-19 problem by identifying new therapies that treat the virus and address the host.
“Together, we think these combinations of anti-viral agents and host-related compounds might give us a cocktail to address the crisis,” said Dr. Wright, director of McMaster’s Michael DeGroote Institute.
The right team at the right Institute
Dr. Wright’s role has been to quarterback the research project and his graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and staff members have been hands-on in the lab throughout the pandemic.
“When everyone else was not taking the bus, they were taking the bus to go to the lab to try to find a solution. It really is remarkable.”
Dr. Wright also underscores the fact the Michael DeGroote Institute exists is a clear advantage for his team.
“We’re incredibly lucky at McMaster that we do have an infectious disease research group,” he stated. “We have the infrastructure and the ability to move very quickly.”
A cocktail of drugs may be the answer
Dr. Wright and his team already have promising leads in about six therapeutic compounds that have shown to work well in proteins and cells. Next, they will test these compounds in animal models of infection.
“If they do work well, then maybe we’ll get lucky and have something we can use to help people with COVID-19,” said Dr. Wright.
The research team is looking at combinations of compounds and Dr. Wright believes the answer to this is likely a cocktail – not a magic bullet.
“If we could be fairly certain that the infection can be controlled, then I think we could start to change the way we’re going through life,” said Dr. Wright. “It doesn’t mean we don’t take some precautions, but it will be similar to the way we’ve been able to manage the HIV crisis with a cocktail of drugs.”