VACCINE FOR COVID19

Many companies across the world are working on vaccines that could be used as a preventive measure against Covid19. Some others are working on antiviral drugs against this disease. "People are looking into whether existing antivirals might work or whether new drugs could be developed to try to tackle the virus," said Dr Bruce Y Lee, a professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy. It can take a decade or more for a new compound to go from initial discovery to the market place. Many compounds never even make it that far. Scientists from UK identified three stages of infection at which the virus could be targeted; keeping the virus from entering our cells, preventing it from replicating inside the cells, and minimising the damage that the virus does to the organs.

Remdesivir - Developed a decade ago,  found in research with MERS, a disease caused by a different coronavirus, showed that the drug blocked the virus from replicating.

Arbidol - This antiviral was tested alongwith the drug lopinavir/ritonavir as a treatment for Covid19 but did not improve the clinical outcomes for people hospitalized with cases of Covid19.

EIDD-2801- This drug was created by scientists at a nonprofit biotech company owned by Emory University. Research in mice has shown that it can reduce replication of multiple coronaviruses, including SARS-Cov-2.

Favipiravir - Some reports from China suggests it may work as a treatment for Covid19. These results, though,  have not been published yet.

Kaletra - This is a combination of two drugs - lopinavir and ritonavir - that works against HIV. Clinical trials are being done to see whether it also works against SARS-CoV-2.

Merimepodib (VX - 497) - This drug developed by Viral Clear Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been shown previously to have antiviral and immune-suppressing effects. The company is running a phase II trial of this drug. People with advanced Covid19 will be randomised to receive either merimepodib with remdesivir plus a placebo. The company hopes to have results by late summer of this year.

(To be continued tomorrow)

KV George

kvgeorgein@gmail.com