Researchers from Rutgers are among leaders in a race to find an oral COVID-19 treatment to supplement or replace Paxlovid – the antiviral medication that helps keep high-risk patients out of the hospital and from dying.
They have published data showing that an alternative medication, a viral papain-like protease inhibitor, inhibits disease progression in animals, a necessary step before human drug trials. The paper appears at bioRxiv, a preprint server where researchers can share new findings before they complete peer review. It has been submitted for journal publication.