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1/ Short thread on #nelfinavir for #COVID19.
Among #HIV protease inhibitors, nelfinavir is actually the most promising one, based on pre-clinical data.
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/6/642
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.25985
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.06.026476v1
Deserves to be given a chance in a clinical trial. https://twitter.com/__ice9/status/1274051740669816833
Among #HIV protease inhibitors, nelfinavir is actually the most promising one, based on pre-clinical data.
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/6/642
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.25985
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.06.026476v1
Deserves to be given a chance in a clinical trial. https://twitter.com/__ice9/status/1274051740669816833
2/ Nelfinavir is a 1st generation HIV protease inhibitor. It is marketed in the US by @Roche and in the US by @pfizer.
After a major product recall in Europe in 2007 and the development of new protease inhibitors that are more potent for HIV, interest for nelfinavir declined.
After a major product recall in Europe in 2007 and the development of new protease inhibitors that are more potent for HIV, interest for nelfinavir declined.
3/ Access to quality-assured nelfinavir is very challenging, although patent has expired. Product is very expensive (700 USD for two week-long treatment) & hardly available in US market. https://twitter.com/paullee123/status/1250936647199477761
There may be some generics in India but none is prequalified by WHO.
There may be some generics in India but none is prequalified by WHO.
4/ As access to nelfinavir is challenging, it is not surprising that there is no registered clinical trial of nelfinavir for COVID-19 anywhere, in spite of its potential.
5/ In sum: #nelfinavir is a promising antiviral for #COVID19. However, teams who are willing to conduct clinical trials are struggling to access quality-assured sources for clinical use. @UNITAID, @DNDi, @UNAIDS or anyone else, anything you could do to help?
