Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Current Status and Prospects for Drug and Vaccine Development

Abstract

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to almost all nooks and corners of the world. There are numerous potential approaches to pharmacologically fight COVID-19: small-molecule drugs, interferon therapies, vaccines, oligonucleotides, peptides, and monoclonal antibodies. Medications are being developed to target the spike, membrane, nucleocapsid or envelope proteins. The spike protein is also a critical target for vaccine development. Immunoinformatic approaches are being used for the identification of B cell and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Different vaccine vectors are also being developed. Chemical and physical methods such as formaldehyde, UV light or β-propiolactone are being deployed for the preparation of inactivated virus vaccine. Currently, there are many vaccines undergoing clinical trials. Even though mRNA and DNA vaccines are being designed and moved into clinical trials, these types of vaccines are yet to be approved by regulatory bodies for human use. This review focuses on the drugs and vaccines being developed against the COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Drugs; SARS-CoV-2; Spike protein; Vaccine.

Graphical abstract

Figure 1

Structure of SARS-CoV-2. (A) Illustration of the SARS-CoV-2 virion created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles look like a crown, giving the disease its characteristic name. (B) Schematic representation of the structure of SARS-CoV-2. It has four structural proteins, S (spike), E (envelope), M (membrane), and N (nucleocapsid) proteins; the N protein holds the RNA genome, and the S, E, and M proteins together create the viral envelope. (C) An electron microscopic image of a thin section of SARS-CoV-2 within the cytoplasm of an infected cell, showing the spherical particles and cross-sections through the viral nucleocapsid.

Figure 2

Scheme of SARS-CoV-2 and some of its molecular protein targets.

Figure 3

Putative SARS-CoV-2 Life Cycle and Therapeutic Targets.

Figure 4

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine antiviral mechanisms.

Figure 5

Convalescent plasma components and its mechanisms of action.

Figure 6

Schematic flow of the transmission of recent outbreak COVID-19 and work flow used in the designing of vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2.