This groundbreaking new coronavirus cure is unlike any other drug we’ve seen so far

[Chris Smith]

• A new antiviral drug that might become the first oral medicine for the novel coronavirus is currently being tested, as Atea Pharmaceuticals has announced a deal with Swiss giant Roche for development and distribution.
• The drug is called AT-527 and it’s currently in Phase 2 testing, with the final stage of clinical trials set for the first half of 2021.
• This new medicine is supposed to block the replication of the coronavirus inside the cell and prevent its ability to spread in the human body.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally approved Gilead Sciences’ Veklury (remdesivir) as the first treatment for COVID-19 on Thursday. The drug proved in clinical trials that it could help patients recover faster than traditional care. But remdesivir will not prevent deaths, a massive study from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed. The FDA’s approval followed the emergency use authorization that remdesivir received in May. But the FDA makes it clear this is the kind of COVID-19 therapy that “should only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care.” The drug is administered intravenously, and it’s not the kind of therapy that can be used in a home setting.

One of the main problems for managing the coronavirus pandemic is that there aren’t any proven therapies that patients can self-administer, as is the case with the common cold and the flu. But scientists are already working on what might turn out to be the first oral antiviral drug for COVID-19 that could be used at home. The announcement came from Atea Pharmaceuticals on the same day the FDA issued the final remdesivir approval. And Swiss pharma group Roche’s involvement in the project is a promising sign for the new therapy.

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This groundbreaking new coronavirus cure is unlike any other drug we’ve seen so far originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 25 Oct 2020 at 10:13:27 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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