Deuremidevir, also known as VV116, is a nucleoside analogue

antiviral Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

drug. It is administrated through oral tablets, which contain the

hydrobromide In chemistry, a hydrobromide is an acid salt resulting, or regarded as resulting, from the reaction of hydrobromic acid with an organic base (e.g. an amine). The compounds are similar to hydrochlorides. Some drugs are formulated as hydrobromides, ...

salt of this drug. The drug is a deuterated tri- isobutyrate of

GS-441524 GS-441524 is a nucleoside analogue antiviral drug which was developed by Gilead Sciences. It is the main plasma metabolite of the antiviral prodrug remdesivir, and has a half-life of around 24 hours in human patients. Remdesivir and GS-441524 w ...

, the

active metabolite An active metabolite, or pharmacologically active metabolite is a biologically active metabolite of a xenobiotic substance, such as a drug or environmental chemical. Active metabolites may produce therapeutic effects, as well as harmful effects. ...

remdesivir Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. is a Broad-spectrum antiviral drug, broad-spectrum ...

. It was first described in a November 2020 preprint by a team including members of

Wuhan Institute of Virology The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (WIV; zh, s=中国科学院武汉病毒研究所) is a research institute on virology under the Wuhan Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Located in Jiangxia District, Wuh ...

and Vigonvita. It completed a phase 3 trial in 2022. Results from a separate Phase 3 trial conducted in mainland China from October 2022 to January 2023 suggested that deuremidevir may shorten the duration of COVID-19 symptoms in non-hospitalized adults with mild-to-moderate disease compared to placebo. Junshi, which markets the drug, received conditional approval from China's

National Medical Products Administration The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA; ) is a national bureau responsible for drug supervision under the State Council of China and is managed by the State Administration for Market Regulation. History The agency had multiple fo ...

in January 2023. In November 2023, in response to viral mutations and changing characteristics of infection, the WHO adjusted its treatment guidelines. Among other changes, the use of deuremidevir was recommended against, except for clinical trials.

Research

In preclinical studies, a single high dose of the drug (at least 1.0 g/kg) was shown to be tolerated in rats and dogs.

References

{{RNA antivirals Anti–RNA virus drugs Antiviral drugs Deuterated compounds Isobutyrate esters Nitriles Nucleosides COVID-19 drug development