US Antiviral Program
The US is investing $3.2 billion for the development of antiviral drugs to treat Covid-19 and other viruses with potential to cause pandemics.
The new US Antiviral Program called the Antiviral Program for Pandemics aims to develop safe and effective antivirals to combat SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and will build sustainable platforms for targeted drug discovery and development of antivirals against viruses with pandemic potential.
The US Antiviral program funded through the American Rescue Plan is a “whole-of-government effort” and is a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The program will allow the NIH to speed up the development and clinical trials of promising antiviral drugs.
It is known that The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Additional treatments have been recently approved by the Agency. This includes the high titer COVID-19 convalescent plasma therapy only for hospitalized patients who have impaired humoral immunity; and the monoclonal antibody therapy with sotrovimab for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19.
In fact, the NIH is now reviewing new potential therapies for COVID-19, such as cell-based, immunomodulatory, and antithrombotic treatments, and the FDA is analysing a final-stage study on molnupiravir, an oral antiviral pill, in hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection.
Overall, the US Antiviral for Pandemics plans to allocate the $3.2 billion into four cooperative programs: $1.2 billion for innovation and discovery of antiviral drugs, $300 million for research support, $700 million for the development and manufacturing of new drugs, and almost $1 billion in preclinical and clinical trials.
Of note, the plan allocating $1.2 billion is to support the creation of collaborative drug discovery groups called Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern that will harness the creativity of the biomedical research community and drive innovative antiviral drug discovery and development.
These new antivirals will help to complement COVID vaccines and prevent the onset of severe COVID in high-risk groups and in those individuals whose vaccination is not protective.
“New antivirals that prevent serious COVID-19 illness and death, especially oral drugs that could be taken at home early in the course of disease, would be powerful tools for battling the pandemic and saving lives,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the President and NIAID Director.
“Through multidisciplinary collaborations among leading scientists in academia and industry, this investment from the American Rescue Plan to create the Antiviral Program for Pandemics will help inspire medical innovation and build on the extraordinary success we have seen in developing the COVID-19 vaccines.”
Francis S. Collins, MD, director of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement: “The remarkable and rapid development of vaccines and testing technology has shown how agile scientific discovery can be when we combine the resources of public agencies, private entities, and our nation’s most brilliant and creative minds. We will leverage these same strengths as we construct a platform for the discovery and development of effective antivirals that will help us defeat COVID-19 and better prepare us for potential future viral pathogens.”
An Update
Recently several media reported that the antiviral drug Codivir shows promising effect against COVID-19.
Codivir, a short synthetic 16 amino-acid peptide was originally discovered at the Hebrew University in Israel, and later Code Pharma, a Dutch pharmaceutical company, discovered that the peptide had a direct antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. In vitro studies conducted at the British virology research laboratory demonstrated a potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2.
Doctors from the Department of Medicine at Hadassah Medical Center stated: “The preclinical data, and the results of the clinical trial support the safety of Codivir administration in humans and suggest its significant anti-Covid-19 effect.”
Due to the ongoing global pandemic, Code Pharma has submitted emergency approval requests to several countries.
Antiviral Drugs that Are Approved, Authorized, or Under Evaluation for the Treatment of COVID-19
Remdesivir is the only antiviral drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of COVID-19.
Ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), molnupiravir, and certain anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have received Emergency Use Authorizations from the FDA for the treatment of COVID-19.
This section focuses on the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel’s (the Panel) recommendations for using small-molecule antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19.
Read More: Antiviral Program for Pandemics
Cover Image Source: https://twitter.com/NIH/status/1279042917407965185/photo/1
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