Pfizer, single pill home cure for Covid could be available this year

drunkmonkey

If the trial is successful, it is just possible that a home cure for Covid-19 will become available later this year. The Prime Minister, who announced the formation of a UK Antivirals Taskforce last week specifically to invest in such products, will no doubt be scanning his text messages for early updates.

The molecule being tested is a bespoke antiviral codenamed PF 07321332. Classed as a "protease inhibitor", it has been formulated to attack the "spine" of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and stop it replicating in our noses, throats and lungs. It was protease inhibitors that turned the tide on the spread of HIV in the UK and around the world. Now researchers hope they may be on the brink of a similar pandemic-busting breakthrough.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/revealed-home-cure-covid-could-available-year/

Good news that big pharm is now looking at a cure, from the article it's now a race against time to get it out while Covid is still considered a major public health threat.

FileNotFound

drunkmonkey wrote: »

If the trial is successful, it is just possible that a home cure for Covid-19 will become available later this year. The Prime Minister, who announced the formation of a UK Antivirals Taskforce last week specifically to invest in such products, will no doubt be scanning his text messages for early updates.

The molecule being tested is a bespoke antiviral codenamed PF 07321332. Classed as a "protease inhibitor", it has been formulated to attack the "spine" of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and stop it replicating in our noses, throats and lungs. It was protease inhibitors that turned the tide on the spread of HIV in the UK and around the world. Now researchers hope they may be on the brink of a similar pandemic-busting breakthrough.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/revealed-home-cure-covid-could-available-year/

Good news that big pharm is now looking at a cure, from the article it's now a race against time to get it out while Covid is still considered a major public health threat.

Would be an interesting development. Wonder what the production capacities would be. Will really depend on materials availability I suppose.

Will this cure the world of covid?

drunkmonkey

FileNotFound wrote: »

Will this cure the world of covid?

We already have some well tolerated early treatments to prevent hospitalizations they're not being deployed everywhere though which in my opinion is downright crazy, I noticed cost of this Pfizer option is a worry as Tamiflu is expensive but can be used for the flu, it's the same guy behind this.

It's great news I think as the end is appearing, that comment about can they get it out in time says it all.

FileNotFound

drunkmonkey wrote: »

We already have very successful and well tolerated cures they're not being deployed everywhere though which in my opinion is downright crazy, Ivermectin, HCQ, Budesonide. I noticed cost of this Pfizer option is a worry as Tamiflu is expensive but can be used for the flu, it's the same guy behind this.

It's great news I think as the end is appearing, that comment about can they get it out in time says it all.

I thought those things you mentioned above were in the cases i knew of only treatments. When you said cure i suppose i thought you meant wiping covid out.

Was wondering if the new pfizer drug is just another form of safeguard or something that will inhibit covid to the extent it can be reasonably killed off.

I suppose anything that has a time related immunity isn't going to work due to the scale of the world.

Either way good news alright.

drunkmonkey

I'd assume they mean wiping out the burden of it, if it can be cured easily it's of little threat. The thinking is with the treatments I mentioned above and it's probably true of the Pfizer drug as well is that the sooner symptoms are stopped the less transmissible they are. So we should see a reduction in transmission.

I'd agreed with you the time based route won't work, it would take constant vaccines worldwide with huge take up from 7 odd billion on a constant basis, that's not going to happen. Everywhere seems to be stalling around the 50% mark and that number will only drop as time rolls on.

biko

Interesting, hopefully the development goes without problems.

Baggly

drunkmonkey wrote: »

We already have very successful and well tolerated cures they're not being deployed everywhere though which in my opinion is downright crazy, Ivermectin, HCQ, Budesonide. I noticed cost of this Pfizer option is a worry as Tamiflu is expensive but can be used for the flu, it's the same guy behind this.

It's great news I think as the end is appearing, that comment about can they get it out in time says it all.

Mod

Substantiate this post to me via PM and dont post in this thread in the meantime.

bloopy

If this is successful, will it not kill off the group of vaccines currently in use in the States?
The current regime in the U.S. is that the vaccines have emergency authorisation only as long as there is no alternative treatments available.
If this pill is released before full FDA approval for the vaccines, will it be considered an alternative treatment?

biko

The question for me is, will this really be considered a replacement for the vaccine?

is_that_so

biko wrote: »

The question for me is, will this really be considered a replacement for the vaccine?

It's a treatment and may help facilitate the effort to get people vaccinated worldwide more quickly, while suppressing hospital cases. There will be others and the more tools we can get against diseases, especially this one, the better.

is_that_so

bloopy wrote: »

If this is successful, will it not kill off the group of vaccines currently in use in the States?
The current regime in the U.S. is that the vaccines have emergency authorisation only as long as there is no alternative treatments available.
If this pill is released before full FDA approval for the vaccines, will it be considered an alternative treatment?

There will be a huge demand for vaccines over the next year or so ,so no it won't.

FileNotFound

Due the the components used in manufacture tablets/Pills will be easier to mass produce (assuming there are no limiting ingredients) than vials of Vaccine.

Hopefully its all good news for this drug, would potentially really help with the fight to get Covid under control.

Bit cynical

An effective treatment that greatly reduces hospital admissions would mean less weight given to vaccines as a means of eradicating Covid-19 and more as a means of protecting elderly and vulnerable groups similar to the annual flu jab.

This would be a good thing as I think eradicating Covid-19 is probably not a realistic goal and likely to do more harm than good over the years it would take trying and failing to achieve it.