The United States is betting on the search for a new antiviral capable of defeating Covid-19 at the first symptoms: the Biden administration has announced an investment of 3.2 billion dollars in the search for a pill that works against Sars-Cov2 and other viruses with “pandemic potential”. After investing $ 18 billion in the development of an anti-Covid vaccine, the US is thus allocating funds that will be used to speed up studies on some promising drug candidates.
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The announcement came today from the US Department of Health. The medicine could arrive by the end of the year and would be used in the first few days after infection to minimize symptoms and potentially shorten its duration. In addition to speeding up trials already underway on promising drugs, the funds will support private sector research, development and manufacturing of the new antiviral.
The project is strongly supported by Anthony Fauci himself, who hopes for the moment when anyone just infected with Covid can simply go to the pharmacy and buy the antiviral: “New antivirals that can prevent the serious form of Covid and therefore deaths due to of the disease, will be a powerful tool against the epidemic – said the immunologist – and even more so if it involves oral drugs that can be taken at home at the first symptoms of the infection “.
In fact, studies indicate that the best time to block the virus is in the first days of the infection, while the virus replicates quickly but the immune system has not yet begun to respond.