Robert Schooley, MD, co-author of the study, told The Sacramento Bee Aug. 17 that after he and his colleagues read that remdesivir reduced recovery times for COVID-19 patients, they wanted to find a way for people to safely take the treatment orally at home before their disease became severe.
The research team uses a technique in which polymerase inhibitors like remdesivir are attached to lipid chains, making the gastrointestinal tract think the drug is fat that needs to be absorbed. Key elements of the drug remain bioactive and travel to the lungs, but avoid the liver, where remdesivir is known to be toxic.
The researchers will have to prove the technique’s safety and efficacy in animals before it is used on humans.
