The unprecedented speed with which Covid-19 vaccines were developed is a testament to both the scientific research that laid the groundwork and the herculean effort of public-private partnerships to bring them to market.
We Need to Start Investing in Antiviral Drugs for the Next Pandemic
Scientists have a good sense of which family of viruses will cause the next pandemic.
February 01, 2021
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Summary.
To date, efforts to identify effective antiviral drugs to combat Covid-19 have been disappointing. Only one, remdesivir, has been approved, and it appears to be only modestly effective. We must and can better prepare for the next pandemic. It involves identifying the families of viruses that pose the biggest threats, developing an array of potential small-molecule, antiviral drugs that could be quickly moved to human trials at the first signs of an outbreak, and making a societal commitment to this effort.