Report: Researchers Working on Antiviral Coronavirus Pills

[mystery-ak]

Report: Researchers Working on Antiviral Coronavirus Pills

Hannah Bleau 24 Sep 2021

Scientists are working on antiviral pills to treat the Chinese coronavirus, a prospect that could come to fruition “within the next several months.”

Researchers are working on oral antiviral drugs to treat the coronavirus as the Biden administration continues to push vaccines and vaccine booster shots for those eligible. Clinical trials of the drugs are underway, and results are expected in the coming months.

“I think that we will have answers as to what these pills are capable of within the next several months,” Carl Dieffenbach, director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, according to NBC News.

Antivirals, such as Tamiflu, already exist for other common ailments, generally reducing the severity and longevity of the illness if given in the ideal timeframe.

Dieffenbach told NBC News that molnupiravir, from Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is the “top contender” for the antiviral coronavirus pill:

    Two others are a candidate from Pfizer, known as PF-07321332, and AT-527, an antiviral produced by Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals.

    They work by interfering with the virus’s ability to replicate in human cells. In the case of molnupiravir, the enzyme that copies the viral genetic material is forced to make so many mistakes that the virus can’t reproduce. That, in turn, reduces a patient’s viral load, shortening infection time and preventing the kind of dangerous immune response that can cause serious illness or death.

    …

    Clinical trials have followed, including an early trial of 202 participants last spring that showed that molnupiravir rapidly reduced the levels of infectious virus. Merck Chief Executive Robert Davis said this month that the company expects data from its larger phase 3 trials in the coming weeks, with the potential to seek emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration “before year-end.”

more
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/09/24/report-researchers-working-antiviral-coronavirus-pills/

[jmyrlefuller]

In the case of molnupiravir, the enzyme that copies the viral genetic material is forced to make so many mistakes that the virus can’t reproduce. That, in turn, reduces a patient’s viral load, shortening infection time and preventing the kind of dangerous immune response that can cause serious illness or death.

Or, one of those "mistakes" turns into a hyper-contagious superbug that makes this pandemic look like a weak flu year.

[PeteS in CA]

Depending on how the FDA handles it, the Merck product is at least quite a few months out, if successful, https://www.merck.com/news/merck-and-ridgeback-biotherapeutics-announce-initiation-of-pivotal-phase-3-move-ahead-study-evaluating-molnupiravir-for-post-exposure-prophylaxis-of-covid-19-infection/ .

[art.prout]

You still counting on the "FDA" to tell you the truth?

Sad.

[PeteS in CA]

PFIZER STARTS GLOBAL PHASE 2/3 EPIC-PEP STUDY OF NOVEL COVID-19 ORAL ANTIVIRAL CANDIDATE FOR POST-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS IN ADULTS

PFIZER STARTS GLOBAL PHASE 2/3 EPIC-PEP STUDY OF NOVEL COVID-19 ORAL ANTIVIRAL CANDIDATE FOR POST-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS IN ADULTS

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced the start of the Phase 2/3 EPIC-PEP (Evaluation of Protease Inhibition for COVID-19 in Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) study to evaluate the investigational novel oral antiviral candidate PF-07321332, co-administered with a low dose of ritonavir, for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. This Phase 2/3 trial is part of a global clinical research program and is enrolling individuals who are at least 18 years old and live in the same household as an individual with a confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“With the continued impact of COVID-19 around the world, we believe that tackling the virus will require effective treatments for people who contract, or have been exposed to, the virus, complementing the impact that vaccines have had in helping quell infections. If successful, we believe this therapy could help stop the virus early – before it has had a chance to replicate extensively – potentially preventing symptomatic disease in those who have been exposed and inhibiting the onset of infection in others,” said Mikael Dolsten, MD, PhD., Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development and Medical of Pfizer. ...
...
PF-07321332 isan investigational SARS-CoV-2-3CL protease inhibitor antiviral therapy, specifically designed to be administered orally so that it can potentially be prescribed at the first sign of infection or at first awareness of an exposure, without requiring patients to be hospitalized. Protease inhibitors, like PF-07321332, are designed to block the activity of the main protease enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate. Co-administration with a low dose of ritonavir is expected to help slow the metabolism, or breakdown, of PF-07321332 in order for it to remain active in the body for longer periods of time at higher concentrations to help combat the virus.

Again, depending how the FDA handles the status (the FDA does not do the testing, nor does the drug company), this may be a year or more out, since it's just starting Phase 2.

[Kamaji]

This is, quite honestly, getting asinine.  Spend the money figuring out why such a small percentage of the population has such a viscerally lethal response to COVID-19, and then come up with protocols to address the causes of that response.

Otherwise, let the rest of us develop natural immunity through exposure that most of us won't even notice.

I am not an anti-vaxxer - far from it - but even I am beginning to get a little curious about the knee-jerk thinking that is going into this.  We seem to have set ourselves on one course, and will not deviate from that course even an inch, no matter how compelling the basis for the deviation.