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Review
. 2023 May 16;24(10):8867.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24108867.

Antiviral Therapy of COVID-19

Georgii Gudima  1 , Ilya Kofiadi  1   2 , Igor Shilovskiy  1 , Dmitry Kudlay  1   3 , Musa Khaitov  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Antiviral Therapy of COVID-19

Georgii Gudima et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has focused on prophylactic vaccine development. In parallel, the experience of the pharmacotherapy of this disease has increased. Due to the declining protective capacity of vaccines against new strains, as well as increased knowledge about the structure and biology of the pathogen, control of the disease has shifted to the focus of antiviral drug development over the past year. Clinical data on safety and efficacy of antivirals acting at various stages of the virus life cycle has been published. In this review, we summarize mechanisms and clinical efficacy of antiviral therapy of COVID-19 with drugs based on plasma of convalescents, monoclonal antibodies, interferons, fusion inhibitors, nucleoside analogs, and protease inhibitors. The current status of the drugs described is also summarized in relation to the official clinical guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19. In addition, here we describe innovative drugs whose antiviral effect is provided by antisense oligonucleotides targeting the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Analysis of laboratory and clinical data suggests that current antivirals successfully combat broad spectra of emerging strains of SARS-CoV-2 providing reliable defense against COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antisense oligonucleotides; antiviral therapy; convalescent plasma; fusion inhibitors; monoclonal antibodies; nucleoside analogs; protease inhibitors; siRNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
SARS-CoV-2 life cycle and mechanisms of antiviral drugs action.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of MIR 19® action (A) and its biological target (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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