Why scientists are racing to develop more COVID antivirals

Credit: YONHAP/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“These are our first-generation antivirals against coronaviruses,” says Sara Cherry, an immunologist at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Our experience with antivirals against other diseases, like hepatitis C and HIV, proves that “we can do better and better over time”, she adds.

It’s too soon to tell whether SARS-CoV-2 is likely to develop any resistance to these first-generation antivirals, says Tim Sheahan, a coronavirologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Although its sky-high rate of replication is a breeding ground for mutations, he says, the virus also causes acute infections that offer relatively little time for resistance-causing mutations to accumulate.

Other antiviral drug candidates are slowly working their way through the clinical-trial pipeline, says Carl Dieffenbach, director of the division of AIDS at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases . He says that one promising candidate is a protease inhibitor, developed by Shionogi & Company, based in Osaka, Japan, and Hokkaido University in Japan, that is currently in phase II/III clinical trials in Asia.

Locuste_

$$$

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Covid-19 news: Strain on health services led to extra non-covid deathsToday’s covid-19 news: · 4000 excess non-covid 19 deaths occurred in England during first year of pandemic · Acute phase of pandemic could end in 2022 with improved vaccination rates, says WHO · Israel recommends fourth vaccine dose for all adults The most deadly pandemic in US, Abortion 2017 =862,000 US goes crazy with covid deaths =650,000 You know who else spread fake news? Adolf Hitler “tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”
Source: newscientist - 🏆 541. / 51 Read more »

Why scientists are racing to develop more COVID antiviralsThe first crop of antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 is promising. But new drugs will be needed to counter the looming threat of resistance. 'here's why' 😂😂😂😂😂 I mean, is there anyone on Earth who doesn't already know?
Source: Nature - 🏆 64. / 68 Read more »

Why scientists are racing to develop more COVID antiviralsThe first crop of antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 is promising. But new drugs will be needed to counter the looming threat of resistance.
Source: Nature - 🏆 64. / 68 Read more »

Why rapid COVID tests aren't more accurate and how scientists hope to improve themRecent research and anecdotes suggest some people are testing negative on rapid tests even after they have symptoms, then later testing positive. Here's what researchers think is going on.
Source: WBUR - 🏆 274. / 63 Read more »

Biden Administration Limits Use of Regeneron and Lilly Covid-19 Antibody DrugsThe FDA revised the authorizations for the therapies, which don’t work against the Omicron variant, to make sure doctors only use them on non-Omicron patients, and the Health and Human Services Department stopped shipments. neither has the vaccine, masks, etc. Maybe time to restrict the use of the vaxxes too, given that they don’t seem to work against omicron either. Yeah cause otherwise they can't keep us in fear
Source: WSJ - 🏆 98. / 63 Read more »

FDA Curbs Use of COVID-19 Antibody Drugs Sidelined by OmicronU.S. health officials say COVID-19 antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly should no longer be used because they are unlikely to work against the omicron variant. Did Delta disappear altogether?
Source: nbcchicago - 🏆 545. / 51 Read more »