The only antiviral drug currently used to treat SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is remdesivir, but administering it is invasive and challenging.
In a new study, researchers used a novel thin-film-freezing technology to deliver remdesivir through dry powder inhalation, potentially making treatment more potent, easier to administer, and more broadly available.
The research was conducted by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin.
The team tested several methods of drug delivery to repurpose existing drugs into more efficacious forms.
Earlier this year, the team focused on niclosamide, confirmed to exhibit antiviral efficacy in COVID-19 infected cells.
Since then, remdesivir has emerged as the only available antiviral treatment for coronavirus.
Remdesivir is authorized for emergency use in adult and pediatric patients hospitalized with severe disease.
Originally developed to treat the Ebola virus disease, remdesivir has shown promising results treating COVID-19 in the human airway epithelial cells.
However, limited effective delivery methods have hindered efforts to provide widespread treatment to a broad range of patients exhibiting life-threatening symptoms.
To provide remdesivir for other patients beyond the most severely ill, more convenient and accessible dosage forms for different routes of administration must be quickly developed and tested so patients have more options to get treated.
One way to overcome the poor absorption rates of remdesivir is to deliver it directly to the infection site.
The research team developed inhaled forms of remdesivir for protecting and treating the respiratory mode of infection, including an amorphous brittle matrix powder made by thin-film freezing.
Not only would this delivery method allow for wider distribution of an essential antiviral in the fight against COVID-19, it could also make remdesivir more effective.
The team says if patients can avoid a hospital visit to begin remdesivir treatment, it can lessen the current strains on our health system, lower cost and provide fewer points of contact with those who are still contagious.
More widely available early-stage intervention methods could lessen symptoms before they become potentially life-threatening, providing more hospital beds and ventilators to those who need them the most.
One author of the study is Robert O. (Bill) Williams III.
The study is published in bioRxiv.
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