– VV116, also known as JT001, is an oral drug candidate of nucleoside analog against SARS-CoV-2. VV116 is a deuterated, tri-isobutyrate ester prodrug of the RDV parent nucleoside, and is rapidly metabolized into the parent nucleoside (116-N1) in the body. 116-N1 is intracellularly converted to the nucleoside triphosphate active form, which would interfere with the function of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2, thus exerting antiviral effects (Fig. 1). VV116 showed potent activity against a panel of SARS-CoV-2 variants (alpha, beta, delta, and omicron) and excellent therapeutic efficacy in the mice model.