‘The COVID pandemic has now made new antiviral treatments a priority. But generating these therapies—especially direct-acting, orally administered drugs that inactivate viruses—is time-consuming. The reason monoclonal antibodies came along first is that scientists could simply follow the immune system’s lead and create synthetic versions of the natural antibodies that deflect the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, from its host cell receptor in recovered patients. The goal of an antiviral pill is to stop the pathogen from replicating, but finding drugs that can do that without injuring the infected human cell is no easy task. Scientists start by screening thousands of compounds for their efficacy in targeting SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture. Promising candidates are then tested in animals—both to ensure that the drugs are not toxic and that they are not immediately destroyed in the body and reach tissues in the lungs and other organs in sufficient amounts. All this work takes place in high-level biosafety laboratories staffed by skilled workers, who are in short supply.’
Read here (Scientific American, July 15, 2021)
