Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jun 13;37(2):e0011923.
doi: 10.1128/cmr.00119-23. Epub 2024 May 21.

COVID-19 therapeutics

Daniele Focosi  1 , Massimo Franchini  2 , Fabrizio Maggi  3 , Shmuel Shoham  4
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 therapeutics

Daniele Focosi et al. Clin Microbiol Rev. .

Abstract

SUMMARYSince the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, an unprecedented range of therapeutic options has been studied and deployed. Healthcare providers have multiple treatment approaches to choose from, but efficacy of those approaches often remains controversial or compromised by viral evolution. Uncertainties still persist regarding the best therapies for high-risk patients, and the drug pipeline is suffering fatigue and shortage of funding. In this article, we review the antiviral activity, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, and safety of COVID-19 antiviral therapies. Additionally, we summarize the evidence from randomized controlled trials on efficacy and safety of the various COVID-19 antivirals and discuss unmet needs which should be addressed.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antiviral therapies; convalescent plasma; monoclonal antibodies; small-molecule antivirals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

D.F., M.F, and F.M. have no conflict of interest to declare. S.S. declares research funding from Ansun, F2G, and Zeteo and payment for consulting/data review activities from Adagio, Adamis, Celltrion, Karius, Pfizer, and Scynexis.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Graphical summary of the main mechanisms of action for the therapeutic classes discussed in this review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Painter GR, Natchus MG, Cohen O, Holman W, Painter WP. 2021. Developing a direct acting, orally available antiviral agent in a pandemic: the evolution of molnupiravir as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Curr Opin Virol 50:17–22. doi:10.1016/j.coviro.2021.06.003 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eastman RT, Roth JS, Brimacombe KR, Simeonov A, Shen M, Patnaik S, Hall MD. 2020. Remdesivir: a review of its discovery and development leading to emergency use authorization for treatment of COVID-19. ACS Cent Sci 6:672–683. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.0c00489 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joyce RP, Hu VW, Wang J. 2022. The history, mechanism, and perspectives of nirmatrelvir (PF-07321332): an orally bioavailable main protease inhibitor used in combination with ritonavir to reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations. Med Chem Res 31:1637–1646. doi:10.1007/s00044-022-02951-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bloch EM, Shoham S, Casadevall A, Sachais BS, Shaz B, Winters JL, van Buskirk C, Grossman BJ, Joyner M, Henderson JP, et al. . 2020. Deployment of convalescent plasma for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. J Clin Invest 130:2757–2765. doi:10.1172/JCI138745 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kelley B, De Moor P, Douglas K, Renshaw T, Traviglia S. 2022. Monoclonal antibody therapies for COVID-19: lessons learned and implications for the development of future products. Curr Opin Biotechnol 78:102798. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102798 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources