Editorial: Current Status of Oral Antiviral Drug Treatments for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Non-Hospitalized Patients

Med Sci Monit. 2022 Jan 1;28:e935952. doi: 10.12659/MSM.935952.ABSTRACTOn 4th November 2021, the first oral antiviral drug for COVID-19, molnupiravir (Lagevrio®), received full regulatory approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK. Molnupiravir is an orally bioavailable antiviral drug for use at home when a SARS-CoV-2 test is positive. On 22nd December 2022, the FDA granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the oral antiviral drug, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid®) for adults and children with mild and moderate COVID-19 at increased risk of progression to severe COVID-19. These regulatory drug approvals come at a crucial time when new variants of concern of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are spreading rapidly. Although the FDA approved remdesivir (Veklury®) on 22nd October 2020 for use in adults and children for the treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization, its use has been limited by the requirement for intravenous administration in a healthcare facility. The four FDA-approved therapeutic neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, imdevimab, bamlanivimab, etesevimab, and casirivimab are costly and also require medically-supervised intravenous administration. The availability of effective, low-cost oral antiviral drugs available in a community setting that can be used at an early stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection is now a priority in controlling COVID-19. An increasing number of repurposed antiviral drugs are currently under investigation...
Source: Medical Science Monitor - Category: Research Authors: Source Type: research