Given the proliferation of claims about the health benefits of marijuana – especially following its decriminalization – it should come as no surprise that cannabis-based chemicals are being evaluated as potential COVID therapies. Two of them, CBGA and CBDA, have been found to bind to the infamous viral spikes and inhibit the replication of COVID. Do these drugs have what it takes to make a useful drug? Read on.
antiviral drug discovery
It was pretty much a forgone conclusion, but the FDA's decision to grant an Emergency Use Authorization to Pfizer's COVID drug, Paxlovid, could mark the turning point in our battle against the virus. Here's the story that you won't find anywhere in the press.
Pfizer's Paxlovid looks very promising in fighting COVID. It also provides a good opportunity to learn about how enzyme inhibitors work. For masochists only.
More than six months after the hype of repurposed COVID drugs, we have nothing. But this wasn't at all unexpected. Here's why.
Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke is featured in a Sun article that describes her efforts to combat the coronavirus. Our advisor is an expert in chemistry, biochemistry, and antiviral drug development. The article, which examines a promising COVID drug she discovered, is a follow-up to a recent Op-Ed that the professor co-authored with ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom.
Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are all the rage. Expectations are not only high, they are too high. ACSH friend, and former trustee, Dr. Paul Offit gives us a much-needed reality check. A vaccine, especially a very effective one, is unlikely to be in the cards anytime soon. Although it is always better to prevent an infection than treat one, antiviral drugs are likely to be the tools to control coronavirus well before a vaccine appears.Here's how Dr. Offit sees this playing out.
Drugs that don't work when taken orally are the bane of drug discovery chemists. Now it's the bane of the world. But there are techniques that can convert orally inactive drugs, like remdesivir, into pills. Here's how they work.
So much news, so much confusion and so many questions – especially those around what different terms mean. What exactly is a therapy for COVID-19? Is it a cure, or something else, like a vaccine? To help sort it out, we prepared this summary; it may help a bit. And to go with it, a riddle: What do you call anti-vaxxers once a coronavirus vaccine becomes available?
Everyone take a deep breath and relax. During these crazy times, people are making all kinds of wild predictions about what drug or vaccine will work. Dr. David Shlaes takes a sobering look at the chances for any of these therapies to work. It's not as easy as you'd think. We should all lower our expectations a bit.
As the Wuhan coronavirus relentlessly engulfs the world, scientists are relentlessly looking for a way to treat the infection. A vaccine is more than a year away, but an antiviral drug called remdesivir is being evaluated in clinical trials by Gilead Science, the world's premier antiviral drug company. Keep your fingers crossed.
As the coronavirus continues to terrorize the world, people are pinning their hopes on companies that are doing vaccine and drug research to -- maybe -- get us out of this mess. Yet, many of the companies doing the work, especially Gilead Science, are "the bad guys." Except when we need them. Gilead's drug, remdesivir, is now in clinical trials in China so they're OK for now. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Sometimes groups or individuals propose breaking the patent on an important drug because it's too expensive. This is not the right way to hold down drug prices, because it will hold down innovation. Breaking a patent is theft, no matter how you look at it.