Previously approved drugs starting points for COVID-19 therapeutics
Researchers in the United States have identified several clinically approved compounds that could be repurposed for the treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
By screening a commercial library of drugs that have already been approved by international regulatory agencies, the team identified more than 50 compounds that demonstrated some efficacy in blocking the initial stage of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the causative agent of COVID-19.
The compounds were able to disrupt the binding of a surface viral protein called Spike to its host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).