Pfizer Begins Early Stage Clinical Trial for a Covid-19 Oral Antiviral Drug

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced this week that it has started an early stage clinical trial to test an oral antiviral drug for Covid-19.

The experimental oral antiviral drug is in a phase one trial called PF-07321332 which is being conducted in the United States. It is the first protease inhibitor taken by mouth for Covid-19 to be evaluated in clinical studies.

The New York-based company’s drug is part of a class of medicines known as protease inhibitors. They work by inhibiting an enzyme that the virus needs to replicate in human cells. They are also used to treat other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C.

“Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic requires both prevention via vaccine and targeted treatment for those who contract the virus,” Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten stated.

He added, “Given the way that SARS-CoV-2 is mutating and the continued global impact of COVID-19, it appears likely that it will be critical to have access to therapeutic options both now and beyond the pandemic.”

Pfizer is additionally working on an intravenously administered protease inhibitor called PF-07304814. This drug is currently in a phase 1b clinical trial in patients that are hospitalized with Covid-19.

Despite the company’s vaccine, in collaboration with Germany’s BioNtech, being rolled out, there will still be a need for more drugs and vaccines to end the coronavirus pandemic.

According to data from John Hopkins University, the virus has infected over 29.8 million Americans and has killed at least 542,991 in the past year.

Pfizer has said that preclinical studies have shown the oral drug demonstrates “potent” antiviral activity against the virus.

The drug is taken by mouth which means that it can be used outside of hospitals for people who are newly infected with the virus.

The biotech giant will provide more details on the drug at the Spring American Chemical Society meeting on April 6th.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.