Leading pharmaceutical giant and one of the most crucial players in the fight against COVID-19, Pfizer, has reportedly announced that it has enrolled several volunteers in initial trials for a new pill, that it hopes could potentially cure COVID-19.
As per reports, the pills could be made available as early as later this year upon the trial’s success. The trial, which involves up to 60 volunteers in the age group 18-60 years, will supposedly take place at two Pfizer locations, one in Belgium and other in the U.S.
The research revolves around PF 07321332, a man-made anti-viral molecule, which is a protease inhibitor that prevents the reproduction of the virus in the throat, nose, and lungs.
The trial will take place in three phases over a period of 145 days, with an additional 28 days allotted for “screening and dosing” at the end, along with several overnight stays needed for participants, as per reports.
Supposedly, in the first phase, Pfizer explains, the trial will look at the tolerance of the drug in participants to check for any significant side effects and observe how people feel after taking the drug. Whereas, the second phase will involve multiple doses and the third will observe the effects of eating food simultaneously.
For the third phase, participants could get dietary instructions, for instance, directing them to consume a breakfast with high fat content of two slices of toast with butter, two bacon strips, two eggs fried in butter, and 4 oz. of hash brown with 8 oz. of whole milk – all of these items to be consumed in twenty minutes, according to reports.
Pfizer has reportedly cautioned volunteers participating in the trial that the drug has only been tested on animals yet, which did not indicate any significant risks or report any safety events that could cause concern.
The pharmaceutical company, which has manufactured a COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with BioNTech, claims that the drug did not result in any side effects at any of the dose levels included in these clinical studies.
If the trial shows no side effects, Pfizer plans to test the drug in people infected with the coronavirus.
Source credits: https://www.timesofisrael.com/pfizer-holds-human-trials-for-pill-to-cure-covid-hopes-itll-be-ready-this-year/