Scientists get ‘initial hit’ in developing drug to treat COVID-19

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, almost everyone at the University of California, Irvine—and colleges across the nation—had to abandon campus. But James Nowick, professor of chemistry, was not a part of that exodus. That’s because his lab, which designs and constructs chemical molecules, had the right equipment to help in the global push to find treatments for COVID-19. … Now that Nowick’s lab has a prototype called an “initial hit,” researchers need to make additional molecules that are more effective in blocking the protease.