Pfizer begins human testing of new Covid-19 pill

Pfizer begins human testing of new Covid-19 pill

Pfizer Inc. announced that it has begun human safety testing of a new pill to treat the coronavirus, which could be used at the first sign of illness.If it succeeds in trials, the pill could be prescribed early in an infection to block viral replication. The drug binds to an enzyme called a protease to keep the virus from replicating. Protease-inhibiting medicines have been successful in treating other types of viruses, include HIV and Hepatitis C.The new protease inhibitor is the second such medicine Pfizer has brought into human trials to treat Covid-19. Pfizer is testing another given intravenously to hospitalized virus patients.Pfizer said it plans to share more data on the compound at the American Chemical Society meeting on April 6.Comments Read Next2 days agoUAE records 2,172 new Covid-19 cases, 6 deaths2 days agoUAE: Covid-19 PCR test every week or two for 5 working sectors3 days agoKuwait records 1,330 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths4 days agoPakistan bans travellers from 12 countries as cases surge4 days agoUAE: Free Covid-19 vaccine for all residents5 days agoUAE records 2,013 new Covid-19 cases, 5 deaths6 days agoUAE records 2,160 new Covid-19 cases, 4 deaths7 days agoUAE records 2,101 new Covid-19 cases,