Developing antiviral drugs is not easy – here's why

By Pavol Bardy, Research Associate in Structural Virology, University of York
Fred Anston, Professor, Chemistry, University of York
Oliver Bayfield, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Chemistry, University of York

The UK 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 this third wave.

While there are anti-inflammatory drugs that reduce the risk of death from COVID, such as dexamethasone and tocilizumab, they are only given…

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