The Impact of COVID-19 on Pregnancy and Emerging Therapeutic Drug Development Options

Abstract

Emerging data shows pregnant women with COVID-19 are at significantly\nhigher risk of severe outcomes compared to non-pregnant women of similar\nage. This review discusses the invaluable insight revealed from vaccine\nclinical trials in women who were vaccinated and inadvertently became\npregnant during the trial period. It further explores a number of\nclinical avenues in their management and proposes a drug development\nstrategy in-line with clinical trials for vaccines and drug treatments\nfor the drug development community. Little is known of the long-term\neffects of COVID-19 on the mother and the baby. We provide a rationale\nfor our hypothesis that COVID-19 predisposes pregnant women to\ncardiovascular diseases later in life, in a similar way, to preeclampsia\nand may increase the risk of preeclampsia in their subsequent pregnancy.\nThis is an ever-evolving landscape and early knowledge for healthcare\nproviders and drug innovators is offered to ensure benefits outweigh the\nrisks.