So, COVID-19 has definitely taken the world by storm. The numbers of confirmed cases throughout the United States has skyrocketed over the past few weeks, and will likely continue to grow for a while. Certain states, including the one I live in, have closed all nonessential businesses, and even given stay at home orders. Most people are in self-quarantine and, if they’re lucky, many are working from home. Other people are losing hours at work or losing their jobs, and essential workers are under lots of stress, risking exposure or working to help take care of those infected. It is certainly a strange time we are living in, and at a time like this everyone is wondering when life will return to normal. It is for this reason that the search for medicine that can help fight COVID-19 is serving as a source of hope for millions of people. So what does that currently look like?
Well, when finding medicine that can help, there are two routes scientists can go. Researchers can use medicine we have already developed and see what would work best to fight this virus, as they can see what is comparative between this virus and other known antigens. Or, they could work to develop a new drug, one that is designed specifically for COVID-19. In terms of using drugs previously developed, there have been many headlines about researchers considering various possible cures. One in particular that has really gotten people’s attention in the past few days is Avigan and its generic version, Favipiravir, an antiviral that was developed in Japan. Although I haven’t seen an explanation of how it actually works, which is incredibly frustrating, there is evidence that it has previously helped to fight a number of viruses, including Ebola and influenza. It is now being used in clinical trials to help treat COVID-19 patients in China and Turkey, and clinical trials of the drug in the United States is currently under discussion among government officials and the company that produces the drug. I do have many major questions about the drug, but there is hope in that, out of those who have already been given the drug in China, it has been shown to reduce recovery time and the amount of time patients have had dangerously high fevers. Other researchers are looking into many other previously developed drugs, such as ones that have been used to treat HIV or malaria.
There is also a large amount of researchers who are on the forefront of new drug development, made to fight this exact virus strain. According to the FDA, there are currently 10 therapeutic agents in active clinical trials and another 13 in the planning stages in the United States. There are also researchers working around the world and collaborating together to help find a drug that will help. One example is APNO1, a drug developed by a collaboration of scientists and companies in 3 different countries. They discovered a protein on the cell membrane, called ACE2, is a key receptor for this type of virus. The drug has been successful in treating the virus in engineered replicas of human tissue, and is soon to be tested in human clinical trials.
In summary, there are many researchers around the world working to find a drug to help treat those infected with COVID-19. There are also many researchers hoping to create a vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus. However, because this strain of virus is entirely new to us, there are still a lot of questions that need to be asked and answered. Just like in many other parts of our lives right now, there are a lot of uncertainties. However, I think we should find hope and comfort in knowing that scientists and drug companies around the world are all working to find a way to help.
Erika Bell's MCRO 251 Blog 