Pfizer said Tuesday it has begun an early clinical trial of an experimental oral antiviral drug for Covid-19.
The company in New York said the phase-one trial of the drug – called PF-07321332 – is being done in the United States. The drug is part of a class of drugs called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme that has to replicate the virus in human cells.
Protease inhibitors are used to treat other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C.
“Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic requires vaccine prevention and targeted treatment for those who contract the virus,” Pfizer chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten said in a press release. “Given the way in which SARS-CoV-2 is mutating and the continuing global impact of COVID-19, it seems likely that access to therapeutic options, both now and outside the pandemic, will be critical.”
The trial comes because Pfizer is also working on an intravenously administered protease inhibitor, known as PF-07304814. This drug is currently in a phase 1b clinical trial in hospitalized patients with Covid-19.
A person walks past the Pfizer building in New York on March 2, 2021.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters
Pfizer already has an authorized vaccine in the US with the German medicine manufacturer BioNTech, but health experts believe that the world will still need a variety of medicines and vaccines to end the pandemic, which infected more than 29.8 million Americans and at least 542 991 killed. more than a year, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The company said preclinical studies have shown that the oral drug, the first oral protease inhibitor taken by Covid-19 that has been evaluated in clinical trials, shows a “powerful” antiviral activity against the virus.
Because it is taken orally, the drug can be used outside hospitals for people who have just been infected with the virus. Researchers hope the medication will prevent the disease from progressing and keep people out of the hospital.
Pfizer said he would give more details about the drug at the Spring American Chemical Society meeting on April 6.