US to spend 3.2 billion dollars on anti-viral pills for COVID 19

Washington : The United States will be spending around 3.2 billion dollars on the development on anti-viral pills and other dangerous viruses which could turn into pandemics.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, announced the investment Thursday at a White House briefing as part of a new “antiviral program for pandemics” to develop drugs to address symptoms caused by potentially dangerous viruses like the coronavirus.

Such pills are under production and may arrive by the end of this year. The process is stuck at clinical trials and with the funding such clinical trials can be paced up.

Fauci said the new program would invest in “accelerating things that are already in progress” for Covid-19 but also would work to innovate new therapies for other viruses.

“There are few treatments that exist for many of the viruses that have pandemic potential,” he said.

But he added, “vaccines clearly remain the centerpiece of our arsenal.”

The US has approved one antiviral drug, remdesivir, against Covid-19 and allowed emergency use of three antibody combinations that help the immune system fight the virus.

The aim behind the investment is that the nation wants simpler pills which can be taken by the patient himself. Some drugmakers are testing such medications, but initial results aren’t expected for several more months.