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
email article
Since the early days of the pandemic, researchers have been trying to use old drugs for new tricks, raising hopes and spurring controversy. Some of these, like hydroxychloroquine, turned out to be flops, while others are still debated. Recently, another old drug called fluvoxamine has come onto the scene.
MedPage Today explores how the old antidepressant has made its way to the COVID spotlight.
Fluvoxamine and the COVID Early Treatment Fund
Fluvoxamine is the poster child of the COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund (CETF). According to its founder, serial tech entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, CETF was started in April 2020 in order to fund drug repurposing research to find the fastest and most cost-effective early outpatient treatments for COVID-19. Kirsch told