Femi Ashekun/
Pfizer Inc is currently running clinical trial on an experimental pill that would be the first to cure COVID-19 called PF-07321332, Dailymail reports.
It belongs to a class of drugs called protease inhibitors, which would inhibit an enzyme that the coronavirus uses to make copies of itself inside human cells
The first phase is set to concluded on May 25 and, if larger phases prove the drug is successful, it could be available by the end of the year
It remains unclear if any US government agencies are funding the clinical trials or if any orders have been placed for the pill
Pfizer’s Inc experimental oral drug would be the first specifically designed to stop the novel coronavirus.
The antiviral pill prevents the virus from spreading inside the body by blocking an enzyme that coronavirus needs to copy itself.
According to The Telegraph, the ongoing trial is split into three phases, running for a total of 145 days, meaning it is set to conclude in mid-July.
That drug – remdesivir, sold as Veklury by Gilead Sciences Inc – remains the only one approved for COVID-19 in the U.S., though some others are authorized for emergency use (a form of tentative approval with a lower bar for safety and efficacy).
According to clinicaltrials.gov, the Covid pill trial is being run at two Pfizer locations, one in New Haven, Connecticut, and the other in Brussels, Belgium.
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