Open AccessRepurposing Existing Drugs for the Treatment of COVID-19
Author(s) -
Hugo Farne,
Kartik Kumar,
Andrew I. Ritchie,
Lydia J. Finney,
Sebastian L. Johnston,
Aran Singanayagam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
annals of the american thoracic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.035
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 2329-6933
pISSN - 2325-6621
DOI - 10.1513/annalsats.202005-566fr
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , repurposing , betacoronavirus , drug repositioning , coronavirus infections , intensive care medicine , medline , hydroxychloroquine , virology , pandemic , pharmacology , drug , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , disease , ecology , political science , law , biology
The rapid global spread and significant mortality associated with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral infection has spurred an urgent race to find effective treatments. Repurposing existing drugs is a particularly attractive approach as pharmacokinetic and safety data already exist; thus, development can leapfrog straight to clinical trials of efficacy, generating results far more quickly than de novo drug development. This review summarizes the state of play for the principle drugs identified as candidates to be repurposed for treating COVID-19 grouped by broad mechanism of action: antiviral, immune enhancing, and antiinflammatory or immunomodulatory. Patient selection, particularly with regard to disease stage, is likely to be key. To date, only dexamethasone and remdesivir have been shown to be effective, but several other promising candidates are in trials.