Prognosis
The Search for New Drugs for Coronavirus Faces Long Odds
Drugmakers must defeat a long history of failures and false starts in epidemics
This article is for subscribers only.
Drugmakers are racing to find treatments and vaccines for the new coronavirus, but crossing the finish line would mean bucking a long and discouraging history—and it may not pay off.
The pharmaceutical industry says it’s up to the task of getting therapies to market quickly. At a White House meeting with President Donald Trump this week, executives from some of the world’s biggest drug companies said they were making progress. Antiviral medicines could be available in months, they said, with a vaccine by next year.