COVID-19

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an infectious disease causing a destructive three year pandemic. It spreads when a person who has the infection breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. According to World Health Organization (WHO), most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness, while some will become seriously ill or die.

Despite the unprecedented speed of development and approval of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, increasing breakthrough cases due to low antibody titers and infection by new variants of concern (VOCs) have continued to plague the world. Safe and effective SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drugs with durable activity against emerging VOCs are needed to provide a necessary complement to vaccine therapies, particularly in immunocompromised populations. As severe symptoms are more frequently observed in people with underlying conditions who need to take other medicines, ideally this antiviral for COVID-19 is a standalone and fast-acting drug with minimal drug-drug-interaction (DDI).

Olgotrelvir is the only oral antiviral drug entering clinical stage study that blocks both SARS-CoV-2 replication in cells and the virus entry into human cells. As a standalone treatment for COVID-19, Olgotrelvir displayed high potency against a wide spectrum of SARS-Cov-2 VOCs and low toxicity in preclinical study.  The different phases of the clinical trial indicated Olgotrelvir efficacy and safety in humans.