A review on the current approaches and perspectives of Covid-19 treatment

At the beginning of 2020, the world was faced with the challenge of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic announced by the WHO on March 11, caused by the betacoronavirus type 2 of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), which had profound health, sociological and even economic consequences. The quickly implemented and large-scale research resulted in the introduction of widely available vaccines that reduced the further development of the pandemic and antivirals against SARS-CoV-2. Currently, 11 antiviral drugs (Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab, Regdanvimab, Casirivimab/Imdevimab, Sotrovimab, Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir, Remdesivir, Molnupiravir, Baricitinib, Anakinra, Tocilizumab, Vilobelimab) have been approved or conditionally approved by the European Medicines Agency and/or by the Food and Drug Administration and are available on the pharmaceutical market. The progress in the pathophysiological description of the SARS-CoV-2 infection has allowed the identif i cation of potential targets for drugs against SARS-CoV-2: inhibitors of intracellular entry of the virus (the interaction between the viral spike (S) protein and the cellular angiotensin converting enzyme-2; ACE2 receptor), inhibitors of viral and cellular proteases, and immunomodulatory drugs (antagonists of pro-inf l ammatory cytokines or complement components). Novel agents against SARS-CoV-2 are also sought among the previously routinely used drugs as their repositioning and among plant-derived compounds. It is expected that ongoing research should result in the introduction of new drugs used in COVID-19 in the near future. The article brief l y describes the current epidemiological situation regarding COVID-19 and the currently used vaccines. Moreover, the paper outlines currently used and researched potential drugs in the pharmacotherapy of this disease.