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Update on Antiviral Strategies Against COVID-19: Unmet Needs and Prospects

Ching-Hsuan Liu1,2, Cheng-Hua Lu1, Shu Hui Wong3

  • 1Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Frontiers in Immunology
|February 22, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, with limited approved treatments. This review examines current therapeutic candidates, including virus-targeting and host-targeting agents, for managing the disease.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic caused over 74 million cases and 1.6 million deaths by December 2020.
  • Limited approved therapeutics and ongoing vaccine implementation challenges highlight the need for effective COVID-19 management strategies.
  • Many therapeutic candidates have shown ineffectiveness in clinical trials, necessitating continued research into novel agents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an updated overview of therapeutic candidates for COVID-19 management.
  • To assess the efficacy of virus-targeting inhibitors and host-targeting agents.
  • To discuss challenges and future prospects in developing potent antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2.

Main Methods:

  • Review of published literature on therapeutic candidates for COVID-19.
  • Analysis of antiviral efficacy data from in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies.
  • Synthesis of information on both virus-specific and host-directed therapeutic strategies.

Main Results:

  • Several therapeutic candidates have demonstrated promising preliminary results, while others have proven ineffective in large trials.
  • Preclinical SARS-CoV-2-specific antiviral agents show potential for long-term disease control.
  • Both virus-targeting and host-targeting agents are under investigation for their efficacy.

Conclusions:

  • Despite ongoing challenges, research into therapeutic agents for COVID-19 management is crucial.
  • Further investigation of preclinical antiviral agents is warranted for long-term pandemic control.
  • Developing potent therapeutic agents remains a key objective in combating the COVID-19 outbreak.
Keywords:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)antiviraltherapeutictreatment

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