Despite a highlight story on
60 Minutes last month, fluvoxamine, a drug typically used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is still just a brief mention in the cytokine inhibitors section in the
For now, it makes sense. Fluvoxamine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), has shown promise in two smaller studies, but larger trials have not been published yet.
Even if the drug becomes a more mainstream treatment for COVID-19, one expert says any demand surge is not expected to result in shortages.
COVID-19 treatment potential
As
60 Minutes tells it, the first COVID-19–related fluvoxamine study began because Angela Reiersen, MD, MPE, was reflecting on potentially relevant medical studies when she herself was sick with COVID in March 2020. There was one that caught her attention: A 2019