Feb 28, 2020
Scientists look to drugs already in development to combat COVID-19
The new coronavirus has researchers looking through their back catalogs for possible solutions.

Mike Natchus, who works at the Emory Institute for Drug Development in Atlanta, examines one of the compounds used in the lab where EIDD 2801 was developed.
Sam Whitehead/WABE
Researchers at the Emory Institute for Drug Development in Atlanta think an antiviral drug they’ve been working on for years, EIDD-2801, could be an effective treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. In the face of a public health emergency like this one, scientists often look to drugs already in development for possible solutions. That’s often much quicker and cheaper than making a drug from scratch, which can take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.