Trine Lisberg Toft-Bertelsen1,2, Mads Gravers Jeppesen1,3, Eva Tzortzini4, Kai Xue5, Karin Giller5, Stefan Becker5, Amer Mujezinovic1, Bo Hjorth Bentzen1, Loren B Andreas5, Antonios Kolocouris4, Thomas Nitschke Kledal6, Mette Marie Rosenkilde7. 1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 2. Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 3. Synklino ApS, Charlottenlund, Denmark. 4. Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Section of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis-Zografou, Athens, Greece. 5. Department of NMR-based structural biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany. 6. Synklino ApS, Charlottenlund, Denmark. tnk@synklino.com. 7. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. rosenkilde@sund.ku.dk.
Correction to: Communications Biology 10.1038/s42003-021-02866-9; published online 01 December 2021.In the original version of the Article, the title did not accurate reflect the main findings of the study. In addition, the final sentence of the Abstract and parts of the text referring to references 3–5 were found to be misleading. The following corrections have been made in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article:Original Title: Amantadine has potential for the treatment of COVID-19 because it inhibits known and novel ion channels encoded by SARS-CoV-2.Corrected Title: Amantadine inhibits known and novel ion channels encoded by SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.Abstract: The final sentence of the abstract was removed (“We therefore propose amantadine as a novel, cheap, readily available and effective way to treat COVID-19”).Introduction, first paragraphOriginal text: A recent retrospective cohort study described an apparent increase in survival in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients treated with amantadine3. Importantly, a study based on self-reported COVID-19 disease among users of amantadine for neurological diseases4 and a small-scale treatment of COVID-19 patients with amantadine5 both supported this observation.Corrected text: A recent retrospective cohort study evaluating amantadine amongst other antivirals did not find any significant benefit of amantadine in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients3. However, a study based on self-reported COVID-19 disease among users of amantadine for neurological diseases4 and a small-scale treatment of COVID-19 patients with amantadine5 suggested a positive impact.Discussion, second to last paragraphIn the following sentence, the word “use” was incorrect and has been replaced with “further test”:“We propose to use amantadine as a novel and effective way to treat COVID-19 through its ability to inhibit known (Protein E) and novel (ORF10) ion channels.”The following sentence has been removed entirely:Importantly, in the clinic, an apparent protective effect of amantadine in COVID-19 patients has been reported in a retrospective cohort study in Mexico3 and in a small-scale treatment of 15 COVID-19 patients5.