Covid-19 Treatment– Pipeline Review 2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared COVID-19 as a health emergency. Rapidly increasing cases of COVID-19 have put a tremendous pressure on the healthcare system to develop effective and safe treatment to combat the deadly virus. There were around 2 million cases and around 127,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 as of 15^th April based on the data published by the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Perpetual efforts being taken by pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and other organisations to find a cure for this deadly outbreak is evident from the announcements of the potential treatments, partnerships and collaborations happening on a daily basis.

Some of the important announcements are as follows:

• Gilead Science's experimental drug Remdesivir showed promising results in early analysis, which has raised hopes that there will be treatment for the virus in a short span.


• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced formation of an expanded agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop new treatments combating the novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV.


• AbbVie Inc. announced collaboration  with selected health authorities and institutions globally to determine antiviral activity as well as efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir against COVID-19.


• The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global clinical trial to repurpose already approved drugs such as remdesivir, the malaria medications chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir and ritonavir, which is the combination of two HIV drugs.

Most of the research activities are being funded by government agencies and charities. Support from the government agencies and the regulatory bodies in terms of fast tracking the approval process and simplifying enrolment of participants is expected to boost the research activities in COVID 19 treatment development.

Major pharmaceutical companies have also entered the race to develop a treatment for coronavirus and several  companies have started evaluating the efficacy of their drugs, which are used in treatment of other conditions, as a potential cure for COVID-19.

• Sanofi and Regeneron are testing a drug called Kevzara as a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients. The drug, which is currently being used to treat arthritis, is undergoing clinical trials involving patients who are hospitalized and have serious complications from the infection.


• Roche Pharma, a division of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., in collaboration with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) division) recently initiated phase-III clinical trials of its drug Actemra, which is currently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

In recent findings, hydroxychloroquine was found to be effective against coronavirus. India is the largest supplier of the hydroxychloroquine, which fulfils 70% of the global demand, has removed ban on export of the medicine to other countries. The rapid spread of the outbreak, rising death toll, and significant impact on the economy due to the lockdown are propelling research activities and increasing the number of molecules that are being tested clinically.

At present, there is no approved therapy for the treatment or prevention of the COVID-19. However, more than 300 active clinical trials are being conducted all over the world.

These trials can be broadly categorized as below:

• Review of Selected Repurposed Drugs


• Review of Select Investigational Drugs


• Adjunctive Therapies

The pharmaceutical interventions found for COVID-19 treatment include human immunoglobulin, interferons, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, arbidol, remdesivir, oseltamivir, favipiravir, carrimycin, methylprednisolone, bevacizumab, thalidomide, vitamin C, pirfenidone, bromhexine, fingolimod, danoprevir, ritonavir, darunavir, cobicistat, lopinavir, xiyanping, and traditional Chinese medicines (TCM).

At present, around phase 2 and phase 3 candidates account for 72% of the total studies being conducted and pharmaceutical companies, government organizations, and other drug manufacturers have sponsored the majority of the studies.

Examples of Some of the Drugs in Phase 4 of the Clinical Development

Report Description

The report on ‘COVID-19 Treatment – Pipeline Review, 2020’ provides a comprehensive overview of the drug molecules that are in the R&D pipeline by molecule, recruitment stage, phases, study type, gender, and other factors such as age group and sponsor. The report also provides a thorough analysis of the candidates by clinical trial phases, company, and details such as clinical trial stage, molecule type, mechanism of action, number of recruitment, location, institution and sponsor for every product in the pipeline.

Products in the preclinical and clinical stage along with dormant & discontinued pipeline candidates are included in the report. The report also covers additional insights such as epidemiology overview, industry developments, comparison of COVID 19 pandemic with previous pandemics such as SARS, Influenza, and MERS, and steps taken by the government/industry for the development of drugs against COVID-19. The report will also throw light on some of the  market indicators such as aging population and prevalence of chronic diseases by country/region.

The report will also offer insights on drug candidates that have a higher chance of success based on various factors such as the stage of development, type and players involved.  Moreover, the report will additionally provide a comprehensive analysis of the potential addressable market of these drug candidates in terms of value and volume.

The report on ‘COVID-19 Treatment – Pipeline Review, 2020’, which is built by following a robust research methodology involving primary interviews and desk research, provides a complete overview of the R&D activity and pipeline products to assist companies in developing growth strategies and identifying emerging players.

Report Scope

• Thorough assessment of the pipeline products by areas such as development stage; molecule type; phases; sponsor; and study type.


• Comprehensive profiles of the pipeline products with details such as company overview; product description; R&D status; development activities; mechanism of action; molecule type; development stage; indications; funding and route of administration


• Overview of dormant and discontinued pipeline products


• Key insights in relation to the epidemiology and outbreak analysis of COVID 19 by country, comparison of COVID 19 pandemic with previous pandemics such as SARS, and MERS, steps being taken by governments to develop a COVID-19 treatments, key industry trends, key developments, and overview of the addressable market, for the pipeline candidates


• Overview of the latest developments; news articles, press releases and relevant conferences

Report Methodology

• All pipeline reports are built through the analysis of data primarily collected through credible desk research sources. Secondary research is supplemented by interviews conducted with key opinion leaders.


• Desk research sources includes global and regional clinical trials databases; annual reports, websites, press releases & investor presentations of companies; white papers; news articles; reports published by industry associations; articles/reports published on databases such as NCBI, ResearchGate; internal databases


• Estimation of the market size based on factors taken into consideration as below:


• Number of patients being diagnosed with positive COVID 19 cases.


• Total number of doses required for the treatment of the one patient per treatment regimen


• Average selling prices of the products


• Production capacities and export/import of products


• Possibility of approval and the time of the launch of the vaccine


• Affordability and the availability of the approved vaccine candidates all over the world

Reasons to Buy this Report

• Develop effective growth strategies based on comprehensive overview of the R&D activity and pipeline products for COVID-19 treatment


• Identify emerging players or competition in the market based on pipeline products and develop strategies to counter the emergence of these players


• Identify the focus of leading players in relation to R&D for COVID-19 treatment


• Identify potential companies from a partnership or acquisition point of view based on current synergy in R&D activities or strategies to diversify R&D focus, thereby driving  growth in business


• Analyse the reasons behind dormant and discontinued products to make changes in the R&D focus areas, if necessary