The only antiviral drug currently used to treat SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is remdesivir, but administering it is invasive and challenging. Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin are hoping to change that by using their novel thin-film-freezing technology to deliver remdesivir through dry powder inhalation, potentially making treatment more potent, easier to administer and more broadly available.

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A team of researchers in UT Austin's Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, led by Robert O. (Bill) Williams III, has investigated varying methods of drug delivery to repurpose existing drugs into more efficacious forms. Earlier this year, the team focused on niclosamide, confirmed to exhibit antiviral efficacy in COVID-19 infected cells. Since then, remdesivir has emerged as the only available antiviral treatment for coronavirus.

Remdesivir is authorized for emergency use in adult and pediatric patients hospitalized with severe disease. Originally developed to treat the Ebola virus disease, remdesivir has shown promising results treating COVID-19 in the human airway epithelial cells. However, limited effective delivery methods have hindered efforts to provide widespread treatment to a broad range of patients exhibiting life-threatening symptoms.