Antiviral EIDD-2801 shows promise
An oral drug called EIDD-2801 has shown promise in test-tube experiments with human lung and airway cells, scientists reported online April 6 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The drug might even be more efficient at blocking the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, than remdesivir, a drug being tested against COVID-19 in clinical trials that began in March.
While remdesivir stops the novel coronavirus from replicating entirely, EIDD-2801 introduces genetic mutations into the virus’s RNA. As the RNA makes its copies, so many damaging mutations accumulate that the virus is no longer able to infect cells, Scientific American reported.
The drug also seems to work against several RNA viruses, and as such, the researchers said it could be a multipurpose antiviral.
And unlike remdesivir, which needs to be given intravenously, this drug could be swallowed as a pill.
"EIDD-2801 is an oral drug that could be administered at home, early after diagnosis," lead study author Timothy Sheahan, of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in a statement from the journal.
"This has the potential to be as ubiquitous as Tamiflu in the future, as long as it proves to be safe and effective in people."