M^pro-targeted anti-SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor-based drugs

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a global health emergency. The main protease is an important drug target in coronaviruses. It plays an important role in the processing of viral RNA-translated polyproteins and is highly conserved in the amino acid sequence and three-dimensional structure, making it a good drug target for which several small molecule inhibitors are available. This paper describes the various anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 inhibitor drugs targeting M^pro discovered since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 outbreak at the end of 2019, with all these compounds inhibiting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 M^pro activity in vitro. This provides a reference for the development of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 M^pro-targeted inhibitors and the design of therapeutic approaches to address newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 mutant strains with immune evasion capabilities.