The exponentially increasing number of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic led to scientists and pharmaceutical companies striving to create new therapies and vaccines to counter the virus. Given the virus’s similarity to SARS and MERS, several existing therapeutic agents were repurposed to achieve immediate control. We provide a checklist of drugs known to treat the disease potentially. The COVID-19 virus is an enveloped virus with a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA.
Like the SARS and MERS, the viral RNA encodes structural, non-structural, and accessory proteins. The key four non-structural proteins and the spike protein are highly conserved and essential for the viral life cycle and entry into cells. These proteins are, therefore, the most-eligible therapeutic targets. In addition, the similarity between the SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 has made it possible to repurpose the existing…
