Pfizer said Tuesday it has begun an early stage clinical trial of an experimental oral antiviral drug for Covid-19.
The New York-based company said the phase one trial of the drug – called PF-07321332 – is being conducted in the United States. The drug is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme that the virus needs to replicate in human cells.
Protease inhibitors are used to treat other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C.