An experimental drug to treat COVID-19, which can be taken orally, is now being tested in humans after showing early promise and effectiveness in hamsters.

The nasal spray contains COVID-19 antibodies that enter through primary sites of infection like the nasal cavities, making it harder for the virus to enter these areas and infect the rest of the body. .

Earlier this month, NIH researchers say they identified a drug, TEMPOL, as a promising oral antiviral drug that can potentially limit SARS-CoV-2, the disease that causes COVID-19, by impairing the disease’s viral enzyme otherwise known as the RNA replicate. .

Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir, an antiviral medication developed by Gilead Sciences, as a treatment for COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization.

The drug was the first fully approved treatment in the United States for COVID-19.

RELATED: Pfizer begins phase 1 study of oral COVID-19 treatment drug

In March, Pfizer began studying an oral antiviral drug with the hopes of treating COVID-19