Atea Pharmaceuticals partners with Roche to develop an oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19

Atea Pharmaceuticals has partnered with Roche to develop an oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19. AT-527, which is Atea’s investigational oral antiviral for the potential treatment of COVID-19, will be produced, manufactured and distributed by the pair.

AT-527, which is being studied in a Phase II study for the treatment of moderate COVID-19, blocks the viral RNA polymerase enzyme required for viral replication.

In the first quarter of 2021, a Phase III trial is scheduled to start evaluating AT-527 as a possible treatment for COVID-19 patients outside a hospital setting. Roche claimed that the medication could also be formulated for prophylactic environments after exposure.