COVID-19: Drug Targets and Potential Treatments

• Published in: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry Vol. 63; no. 21; pp. 12359 - 12386
• Main Authors: Gil, Carmen, Ginex, Tiziana, Maestro, Inés, Nozal, Vanesa, Barrado-Gil, Lucía, Cuesta-Geijo, Miguel Ángel, Urquiza, Jesús, Ramírez, David, Alonso, Covadonga, Campillo, Nuria E, Martinez, Ana
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 12.11.2020
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; COVID-19 - drug therapy; Drug Repositioning; Enzyme Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Humans; Immunity, Innate - drug effects; SARS-CoV-2 - drug effects
• ISSN: 0022-2623; 1520-4804
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00606

Currently, humans are immersed in a pandemic caused by the emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome corona­virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which threatens public health worldwide. To date, no drug or vaccine has been approved to treat the severe disease caused by this corona­virus, COVID-19. In this paper, we will focus on the main virus-based and host-based targets that can guide efforts in medicinal chemistry to discover new drugs for this devastating disease. In principle, all CoV enzymes and proteins involved in viral replication and the control of host cellular machineries are potentially druggable targets in the search for therapeutic options for SARS-CoV-2. This Perspective provides an overview of the main targets from a structural point of view, together with reported therapeutic compounds with activity against SARS-CoV-2 and/or other CoVs. Also, the role of innate immune response to corona­virus infection and the related therapeutic options will be presented.