Keywords
Abstract
The article provides an overview of researches on drugs for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 conducted during 2020 and the first half of 2021 as part of global initiatives, which mainly focused on vaccine development and testing of known drugs for new indications.
Unprecedentedly rapid work has been done to develop vaccines against COVID-19, which has provided humanity with a powerful tool to fight the disease.
The results of multicenter clinical trials of potential COVID-19 treatments on the platforms «Solidarity», «Recovery», «ACTT» and some others allowed conclusions to be drawn about the lack of clinical benefit from the use of hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir in the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the ability of low doses of dexamethasone to reduce by one third the mortality of COVID-19’s hospitalized patients with severe respiratory complications (reduced risk of death and need for artificial ventilation, shortened hospital stay), no positive effect of aspirin and azithromycin on the survival of COVID-19’s hospitalized patients. Numerous trials of remdesivir (Veklury of Gilead Sciences Ireland UC) have led to its use in the United States, Japan and the EU for new indications - treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults, the elderly and children over 12 years of age with severe course and the need for additional oxygen, mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Remdesivir is also included in medical care protocols for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ukraine.
A number of drugs have been approved by the FDA for emergency use in the United States under COVID-19. Several drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 are currently being considered by the EMA using the «Rolling Review» Acceleration Tool.
Further global collaboration plans envisage the start of a new phase of «Solidarity» («Solidarity PLUS») research by WHO in August 2021, in which trials of three drugs approved for other indications (artesunate, imatinib and infliximab) are planned. It is believed that these drugs have the potential to reduce the risk of death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
There are high expectations for the direct-acting oral antiviral drug molnupiravir (developed by MERCK in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics).
The results of studies of potential drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 and its complications, conducted by Ukrainian scientists, allowed the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to approve new indications in the instructions for medical use of drugs AMIZON®MAX (JSC «Farmak»), Amiksin® IC (TDV «Interchem»),
Kvertin and KORVITIN® (PJSC NVC «Borschagovsky Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant») and Bioven LLC «BIOPHARMA PLASMA»), to make appropriate changes in the protocols of medical care for patients with COVID-19.
On May 6, 2021, the European Commission announced its intention to approve, ensure mass production and use of drugs from COVID-19 by November 2021 to reduce the number of hospitalizations and overcome the long-term consequences of the disease.
The EMA is already reviewing three monoclonal antibody-based drugs (a combination of Regeneron and Celltrion and Eli Lilly monoclonal antibodies) which reduce the risk of hospitalization and death on 87 %. The EU hopes that by the end of 2021 permits will be issued for their use for the treatment of COVID-19.
All this allows us to look forward with optimism.