|
 It
also said it plans to support studies to determine whether existing
Pfizer medicines, including its rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz,
may provide benefits for those struggling with the COVID-19
respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
More than a dozen large drugmakers, including Pfizer, have announced
plans in recent months to develop vaccines and treatments for the
coronavirus, although few if any are likely to reach patients in
time to stem the current outbreak.
Pfizer first revealed plans to try to develop an antiviral compound
for COVID-19 in March, and later said it was working with BioNTech
SE <22UAy.F> on a potential vaccine based on messenger RNA
technology.
It also announced a five-point plan for confronting the virus that
includes collaborating with outside companies and institutions on
the research, development and manufacture of treatments.
"Pfizer has mobilized resources and capabilities to address every
single frontier of the COVID-19 pandemic," Pfizer research chief
Mikael Dolsten told Reuters in an interview.
Data from preclinical studies shows that a compound that was
originally developed to treat SARS - a different coronavirus that
caused a major epidemic in 2003 - has the potential to treat
patients with the new coronavirus, Dolsten said.
[to top of second column] |
Pfizer said it will conduct additional preclinical studies and aims to begin
trials in humans in the third quarter of 2020.
Meanwhile, Pfizer will help fund a study into whether Xeljanz, which belongs to
a class of drugs called JAK inhibitors and also treats the autoimmune disease
ulcerative colitis, can help patients with pneumonia caused by COVID-19.
Rheumatoid arthritis treatments from other drugmakers that work differently than
Xeljanz are also being studied as possible COVID-19 treatments.
Pfizer is also looking into the potential of other drugs that work on the immune
system to help coronavirus patients, the company said.
The company is also working with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine on
two studies to better understand the relationship between coronavirus and
pneumonia, which plays a role in many deaths caused by the virus that attacks
the lungs.
Pfizer will also publish a review of research into whether its antibiotic
azithromycin, sold under the brand name Zithromax, can play a role in treating
COVID-19.
Azithromycin has been used with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine by some
doctors after a French study suggested the combination might benefit some
COVID-19 patients.
(Reporting by Carl O'Donnell; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
