Enantiomers of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine Exhibit Different Activities Against SARS-CoV-2in vitro, EvidencingS-Hydroxychloroquine as a Potentially Superior Drug for COVID-19

In all of the clinical trials for COVID-19 conducted thus far and among those ongoing involving chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, the drug substance used has invariably been chloroquine (CQ) diphosphate or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) sulfate, i.e., the phosphoric or sulfuric acid salt of a racemic mixture ofR- andS-enantiomer (50/50), respectively. As a result, the clinical outcome from previous CQ or HCQ trials were, in fact, the collective manifestation of bothRandS-enantiomers with inherent different pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and toxicity liabilities. Our data for the first time demonstrated the stereoselective difference of CQ and HCQ against live SARS-CoV-2 virus in a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory.S-chloroquine (S-CQ) andS-hydroxychloroquine (S-HCQ) significantly more active against SARS-CoV-2, as compared toR-CQ andR-HCQ, respectively. In addition, M^pro, as one of the critical enzymes for viral transcription and replication, also exhibited an enantioselective binding affinity toward theS-enantiomers. The most significant finding from this study is the pronounced difference of the two enantiomers of CQ and HCQ observed in hERG inhibition assay. The IC₅₀value ofS-HCQ was higher than 20 μM against hERG channel, which was much less active over all tested CQ and HCQ compounds. Moreover,S-HCQ alone did not prolong QT interval in guinea pigs after 3 days and 6 days of administration, indicating a much lower cardiac toxicity potential. With these and previous findings on the enantio-differentiated metabolism, we recommend that future clinical studies should employS-HCQ, substantially free of theR-enantiomer, to potentially improve the therapeutic index for the treatment of COVID-19 over the racemic CQ and HCQ.