Repurposing current therapeutic regimens against SARS-CoV-2 (Review)

The recent coronavirus outbreak has spread worldwide, with the exception of Antarctica, causing serious social and economic disruption. All disciplines of the science community are driven to confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as currently, there is neither prophylactic nor therapeutic treatments available. Due to the urgency of the situation, various research strategies are ongoing, in order to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of repurposed and experimental drugs. The present review presents the most promising repurposed regimens, which may be used for the treatment of COVID-19. The drugs/bioactive substances presented herein belong to diverse therapeutic classes, including antimalarial, cardioprotective, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 inhibitors, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antiparasitic drugs. Therapeutic perspectives of vaccination and passive immunization are also reviewed.