Open AccessCOVID-19 therapeutics: Challenges and directions for the future
Author(s) -
Philip C Robinson,
David Liew,
Helen Tanner,
John Grainger,
Raymond A. Dwek,
Ronald B. Reisler,
Lawrence Steinman,
Marc Feldmann,
Long Hoàng,
Tracy Hussell,
Paul Moss,
Duncan Richards,
Nicole Zitzmann
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2119893119
Subject(s) - repurposing , covid-19 , pandemic , drug development , risk analysis (engineering) , scale (ratio) , clinical trial , medicine , business , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , drug , engineering , virology , pharmacology , geography , cartography , pathology , outbreak , waste management
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 triggering the COVID-19 pandemic ranks as arguably the greatest medical emergency of the last century. COVID-19 has highlighted health disparities both within and between countries and will leave a lasting impact on global society. Nonetheless, substantial investment in life sciences over recent decades has facilitated a rapid scientific response with innovations in viral characterization, testing, and sequencing. Perhaps most remarkably, this permitted the development of highly effective vaccines, which are being distributed globally at unprecedented speed. In contrast, drug treatments for the established disease have delivered limited benefits so far. Innovative and rapid approaches in the design and execution of large-scale clinical trials and repurposing of existing drugs have saved many lives; however, many more remain at risk. In this review we describe challenges and unmet needs, discuss existing therapeutics, and address future opportunities. Consideration is given to factors that have hindered drug development in order to support planning for the next pandemic challenge and to allow rapid and cost-effective development of new therapeutics with equitable delivery.