An Update on Current Therapeutic Drugs Treating COVID-19

Abstract

The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has presented unprecedented challenges to the healthcare systems in almost every country around the world. Currently, there are no proven effective vaccines or therapeutic agents against the virus. Current clinical management includes infection prevention and control measures and supportive care including supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilatory support. Evolving research and clinical data regarding the virologic SARS-CoV-2 suggest a potential list of repurposed drugs with appropriate pharmacological effects and therapeutic efficacies in treating COVID-19 patients. In this review, we will update and summarize the most common and plausible drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. These drugs and therapeutic agents include antiviral agents (remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, lopinavir, umifenovir, favipiravir, and oseltamivir), and supporting agents (Ascorbic acid, Azithromycin, Corticosteroids, Nitric oxide, IL-6 antagonists), among others. We hope that this review will provide useful and most updated therapeutic drugs to prevent, control, and treat COVID-19 patients until the approval of vaccines and specific drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2.

A trimeric human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as an anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent in vitro

“…Third, structure-guided design of peptide-based viral entry inhibitors has yielded promising leads in in vitro assays 8,9 ; their efficacy requires further clinical evaluation. Fourth, known drugs or drug candidates, including remdesivir, favipiravir and ribavirin (viral RNA polymerase inhibitors); lopinavir and ritonavir (viral protease inhibitors); as well as hydroxychloroquine, corticosteroids and interferons (with more complicated antiviral mechanisms), have been repurposed as COVID-19 therapuetics 10,11 .…”

Bioinformatic approaches towards identification of potential repurposable drugs for COVID-19

“…Combined with the current ndings, several approved or experimental drugs have been repurposed against SARS-CoV-2 including remdesivir (HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitor), anti-in uenza favipiravir (RdRp inhibitor), ribavirin (RNA synthesis and capping inhibitor), anti-in uenza baloxavir marboxil (capdependent endonuclease), HIV protease inhibitors lopinavir and ritonavir, endocytosis inhibitor antimalarial chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, antibiotic azithromycin, immunosuppressant cyclosporine (cyclophilin inhibitor), rapamycin (FKBP/mTORC inhibitor), tocilizumab (IL6 receptor antagonist), sarilumab (tocilizumab e cacy dependent), antihelminthic ivermectin (integrase and importin α/β1 inhibitor), antiprotozoal/antiviral netazoxanide (inhibitor of viral replication by tizoxanide metabolite), nefamostat/camostat (ACE2 receptor/TMPRSS2 inhibitor), antidepressant uvoxamine, INFβ-1a inhibitor (CD73 ecto-5 / -neucleotidase) are under clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment (Guy et al, 2020;Li et al, 2020;Bellingan et al, 2014;Caly et al, 2020;Grein et al, 2020;Wu et al, 2020;Uno, 2020).…”

Canthin-6-One 9-O-Beta-Glucopyranoside: an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID 19) proteases PLpro and Mpro/ 3CLpro

“…Chloroquine is an antimalarial drug is being used in combination with Azithromycin for the treatment of COVID patients [47]. Oseltamivir in combination with hydroxychloroquine was also found to inhibit the coronavirus to some extent [48,49]. Remdesivir and ribavirin are the FDA-approved anti-RdRp drugs that was found to treat patients and reduce the danger of the mysterious new viral infection COVID-19 [50].…”