US to devote $3.2B developing COVID-19 antiviral pills

• Dr. Anthony Fauci announced on Thursday that the US will be devoting $3.2 billion to develop antiviral pills for COVID-19 and other viruses with “pandemic potential.”
• The currently available drugs require administration by a medical expert, so health officials are looking to develop alternatives that could be taken by patients themselves.
• Fauci clarified, however, that vaccines are still our main defense.

The United States will be investing $3.2 billion in the development of antiviral pills for COVID-19 and other viruses that could cause a pandemic.

The announcement was made by infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci during Thursday’s White House briefing.

The new “antiviral program for pandemics” aims to develop drugs that target symptoms caused by dangerous viruses like the coronavirus. 

So far, there has been one approved antiviral drug for COVID-19, remdesivir, and three antibody combinations allowed for emergency use. These help the body’s immune system fight the virus. However, these drugs need to be administered in medical facilities and are therefore in low demand.

The US has tried to raise awareness of the treatments, such as providing COVID-19 patients with information about nearby providers. Still, logistical hurdles continue to lower the demand.

This is why health officials, including Fauci, have called for simpler pill-based treatments that could be taken by the patients themselves.

Such medications are already being developed and tested by some drugmakers, but it could take several months before we could see promising results.

Government funding will help speed up the process by providing additional support to research, development, and manufacturing. 

According to Fauci, funding for the program will be used for “accelerating things that are already in progress” for COVID-19 and for innovating new therapies for other viruses.

He said that there already a few existing treatments “for many of the viruses that have pandemic potential.” Still, he clarified that “vaccines clearly remain the centerpiece of our arsenal.”

The drugs currently available have been shown to prevent hospitalization or reduce recovery time by several days.

The COVID-19 pills currently in development aim to minimize symptoms after infection. They could arrive by the end of the year, pending completion of clinical trials.

The Biden administration’s plans for the development of such pills were first reported by The New York Times.

Source: Aol.com