The emergence of powerful oral anti-COVID-19 drugs in the post-vaccine era

The quest for effective drugs to treat COVID-19 has been a priority since the outbreak of the disease. The clinical application of remdesivir has been greatly restricted by the need for intravenous administration, as well as unstable concentrations in plasma and variable antiviral activity in different organelles.1 Four neutralising antibodies (bamlanivimab, etesevimab, casirivimab, and imdevimab) have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration; however, their high cost and need for intravenous administration render them inaccessible to the public.