Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Why treating Covid-19 with drugs is harder than you think

Why treating Covid-19 with drugs is harder than you think

Viruses are much more varied, rapidly evolving and hard to access than bacteria – so scientists searching for drug-based treatments have their work cut out.

The UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, recently announced the creation of an antivirus taskforce to "supercharge" the development of new antiviral drugs. At a Downing Street press conference, Johnson said: "The majority of scientific opinion in this country is still firmly of the view that there will be another wave of Covid at some stage this year." The Prime Minister hopes to have antiviral drugs ready by the autumn to help quell a third wave.

While there are anti-inflammatory drugs that reduce the risk of death from Covid-19, such as dexamethasone and tocilizumab, they are only given to people hospitalised with severe Covid-19. But Johnson wants drugs that can be taken at home, in pill form, that stop people ending up in hospital on a ventilator.

It usually takes years to develop and approve new antiviral drugs because the discovery pipeline involves a painstaking process of identifying chemical compounds that target the virus and then testing their efficacy and safety. For this reason, scientists are also looking at reusing existing drugs that have been approved for treating other viruses or diseases.

The antiviral drug Tamiflu binds to proteins on the surface of infected cells to prevent flu particles from escaping


Unlike broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can be used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections, drugs that work against one type of virus rarely work at treating other viruses. For example, remdesivir, originally developed for treating hepatitis C, was at one point suggested as a treatment for Covid-19, but clinical trials have shown that it has only a limited effect against this coronavirus.

The reason there are few effective broad-spectrum antivirals is that viruses are much more diverse than bacteria, including in how they store their genetic information (some in the form of DNA and some as RNA). Unlike bacteria, viruses have fewer of their own protein building blocks that can be targeted with drugs.

For a drug to work, it has to reach its target. This is particularly difficult with viruses because they replicate inside human cells by hijacking our cellular machinery. The drug needs to get inside these infected cells and act on processes that are essential for the normal functioning of the human body. Unsurprisingly, this often results in collateral damage to human cells, experienced as side-effects.

Targeting viruses outside cells – to stop them from gaining a foothold before they can replicate – is possible, but is also difficult because of the nature of the virus shell. The shell is extraordinarily robust, resisting the negative effects of the environment on the way to its host. Only when the virus reaches its target does its shell decompose or eject its contents, which contain its genetic information.

This process may be a weak spot in the virus lifecycle, but the conditions that control the release are very specific. While drugs targeting the virus shell sounds appealing, some may still be toxic to humans.

Despite these difficulties, drugs that treat viruses such as influenza and HIV have been developed. Some of these drugs target the processes of viral replication and the viral shell assembly. Promising drug targets of coronaviruses have been identified as well. But developing new drugs takes a long time, and viruses mutate quickly. So even when a drug is developed, the ever-evolving virus might soon develop resistance towards it.

Some strains of HIV have already evolved resistance to certain antiretroviral drugs, which were first developed in the late 1980s


A further problem in fighting viruses is that several – such as HIV, papillomavirus and herpes – can switch into a sleeping mode. In this state, infected cells don't produce any new viruses. The genetic information of the virus is the only viral thing present in the cells. Drugs interfering with the replication or shell of the virus do not have anything to be active against, so the virus survives.

When the sleeping virus becomes active again, symptoms are likely to reoccur and additional treatment with a drug is then necessary. This increases the chance of the drug resistance developing, since the virus experiences the drug-induced selection for resistant variants for a longer time.

Although we are still only starting to understand the lifecycle of coronaviruses, there are signs that they can persist for an extended time, particularly in patients with weak immunity, resulting in an additional problem of generating more resistant virus strains.

Research on understanding how the coronavirus works has come a long way in a short time, but when it comes to developing antivirals there are still many questions to be answered. With a potential resurgence in infections expected later in the year, the antiviral taskforce has its work cut out.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
×