Repositioning of Drugs to Counter COVID-19 Pandemic - An Insight

Abstract

COVID-19 is a pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is a severe acute respiratory syndrome. The devastating impact of this novel coronavirus outbreak has necessitated the need for rapid and effective antiviral therapies against SARS-CoV-2 to control the spread of the disease and importantly, alleviate the severe life-threatening symptoms and disorders. Drug repurposing strategy offers an attractive, immediate and realistic approach to tackle this growing pandemic of COVID-19. Due to the similarities with the SARS-CoV-1 virus and phylogenetic relation to the MERS-CoV virus, accelerated screening of approved drugs and the development of repositioning strategies have proved to be critical for the survival of many COVID-19 patients. Numerous scientific investigations from the initial years of the coronavirus outbreak along with upcoming advances of immunotherapy and vaccines, may prove to be beneficial. Currently, several repurposing strategies are under different phases of clinical trials and provide a definitive framework for the development of future therapies for the effective treatment of COVID-19. This review article summarizes the latest developments and trends in drug repurposing strategy for COVID-19 treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; drug repurposing; infectious diseases; viruses.