On Jan. 24, 2022, Anixa Biosciences announced that the company and its partner, MolGenie, had synthesized a compound that appeared to be considerably more potent than nirmatrelvir at inhibiting Mpro, the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Nirmatrelvir is the main component of Pfizer’s PAXLOVIDﾙ, which was recently authorized to treat COVID-19. PAXLOVID also includes ritonavir, which is an HIV drug.