ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 has led to more than 600 000 deaths worldwide. Patients with severe disease often experience acute respiratory distress characterized by upregulation of multiple cytokines. Immunomodulatory biological therapies are being evaluated in clinical trials for the management of the systemic inflammatory response and pulmonary complications in patients with advanced stages of COVID-19. In this review, we summarize the clinical pharmacology considerations in the development of immunomodulatory therapeutic proteins for mitigating the heightened inflammatory response identified in COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Immunologic Factors/administration & dosage , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Proteins/administration & dosage , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Drug Development , Humans , Immunologic Factors/pharmacology , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Proteins/immunology , Proteins/pharmacology , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19 Drug TreatmentABSTRACT
This literature review aims to provide a comprehensive current summary of the pathogenesis, clinical features, disease course, host immune responses, and current investigational antiviral and immunomodulatory pharmacotherapies to facilitate the development of future therapies and measures for prevention and control.