Host: The 94th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Pharmacological Society
Name : The 94th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Pharmacological Society
Number : 94
Location : Sapporo
Date : March 08, 2021 - March 10, 2021
Countries around the world are currently fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus, belonging to the same genus as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV. Currently, there are no proven antiviral therapies for COVID-19. Numerous clinical trials have been initiated to identify an effective treatment. One leading candidate is remdesivir (GS-5734), a broad-spectrum antiviral that was initially developed for the treatment of Ebola virus, has been provisionally approved for COVID-19. Remdesivir is a nucleotide analogue that delays replication of viral RNA. It comes in the form of a prodrug which is metabolized to the active form (remdesivir triphosphate) once it enters cells. In vitro and preclinical studies have shown that it has antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. There have been several studies of remdesivir in patients with COVID-19. These have included a compassionate use program, placebo-controlled trials and dosing trials. The results present here.
