Therapeutics for COVID-19

Therapeutics for COVID-19 and their development during a pandemic are reviewed, including future prospects for anticoronavirals. Vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments to prevent severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness were available within a year of the pandemic being declared but there remained an urgent need for therapeutics to treat patients who were not vaccinated, were immunocompromised or whose vaccine immunity had waned. Initial results for investigational therapies were mixed. AT-527, a repurposed nucleoside inhibitor for hepatitis C virus, enabled viral load reduction in a hospitalized cohort but did not reduce viral load in outpatients. The nucleoside inhibitor molnupiravir prevented death but failed to prevent hospitalization. Nirmatrelvir, an inhibitor of the main protease (Mpro), co-dosed with the pharmacokinetic booster ritonavir, reduced hospitalization and death. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir received an Emergency Use Authorization in the United States at the end of 2021. Immunomodulatory drugs such as baricitinib, tocilizumab and corticosteroid, which target host-driven COVID-19 symptoms, are also in use. We highlight the development of COVID-19 therapies and the challenges that remain for anticoronavirals.

Automated summary

This article reviews therapeutics for COVID-19 and their development, including prospects for anticoronavirals. Vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments were available within a year, but there was still a need for therapeutics for certain patient groups. Investigational therapies showed mixed results, with some reducing viral load or preventing death. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir received Emergency Use Authorization in the United States. Immunomodulatory drugs targeting host-driven symptoms are also used. The article highlights the development of COVID-19 therapies and the challenges in developing anticoronavirals.