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Review
. 2020 Nov;177(21):4813-4824.
doi: 10.1111/bph.15072. Epub 2020 May 15.

Current pharmacological treatments for COVID-19: What's next?

Cristina Scavone  1 , Simona Brusco  1 , Michele Bertini  1 , Liberata Sportiello  1 , Concetta Rafaniello  1 , Alice Zoccoli  2 , Liberato Berrino  1 , Giorgio Racagni  3 , Francesco Rossi  1   2 , Annalisa Capuano  1
Affiliations
Review

Current pharmacological treatments for COVID-19: What's next?

Cristina Scavone et al. Br J Pharmacol. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Since December 2019 SARS-Cov-2 was found responsible for the disease COVID-19, which has spread worldwide. No specific therapies/vaccines are yet available for the treatment of COVID-19. Drug repositioning may offer a strategy and a number of drugs have been repurposed, including lopinavir/ritonavir, remdesivir, favipiravir and tocilizumab. This paper describes the main pharmacological properties of such drugs administered to patients with COVID-19, focusing on their antiviral, immune-modulatory and/or anti-inflammatory actions. Where available, data from clinical trials involving patients with COVID-19 are reported. Preliminary clinical trials seem to support their benefit. However, such drugs in COVID-19 patients have peculiar safety profiles. Thus, adequate clinical trials are necessary for these compounds. Nevertheless, while waiting for effective preventive measures i.e. vaccines, many clinical trials on drugs belonging to different therapeutic classes are currently underway. Their results will help us in defining the best way to treat COVID-19 and reducing its symptoms and complications. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on The Pharmacology of COVID-19. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v177.21/issuetoc.

Keywords: COVID-19; antiinflammatory agents; antivirals; clinical practice; clinical research; immuno-modulatory agents; pharmacological treatments.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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