Drug treatment options for the 2019-new coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Hongzhou Lu1,2,3

  • 1Scientific Research Center, Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Bioscience Trends
|January 31, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Identifying effective drug treatments for the 2019-new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is critical. Potential options include existing antivirals, traditional Chinese medicine, and new drug development, but clinical validation is essential.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • The 2019-new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak necessitates urgent identification of effective treatments.
  • No specific vaccines or antiviral therapies are currently available for human coronavirus infections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify potential drug treatment options for the 2019-nCoV outbreak.
  • To explore various methodologies for discovering antiviral treatments against human coronaviruses.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewing existing broad-spectrum antiviral drugs through standard assays.
  • Screening chemical libraries and databases for potential compounds.
  • Developing new drugs based on genomic and biophysical data of coronaviruses.

Main Results:

  • Several drug classes were identified as potential treatments: Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Nucleoside analogues, Neuraminidase inhibitors, Remdesivir, peptide (EK1), abidol, RNA synthesis inhibitors (TDF, 3TC), and anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • Chinese traditional medicines like ShuFengJieDu Capsules and Lianhuaqingwen Capsule were also considered.
  • The efficacy and safety of these potential treatments for 2019-nCoV require further clinical confirmation.

Conclusions:

  • A range of existing and novel therapeutic strategies show promise for treating 2019-nCoV.
  • Clinical trials are crucial to validate the effectiveness and safety of these drug candidates.

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