Identification of a novel inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease: an in silico, biochemical, and cell-based approach.

The recurrent nature of coronavirus outbreaks, severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid emergence of novel variants, and concerns over the effectiveness of existing vaccines against novel variants have highlighted the need to develop therapeutic interventions. Targeted efforts to identify inhibitors of crucial viral proteins are the preferred strategy. In this study, we screened FDA-approved and natural product libraries using in silico approach for potential hits against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) and experimentally validated their potency using in vitro biochemical and cell-based assays.

Repurposing of FDA Approved Drugs Against SARS-CoV-2 Papain-Like Protease: Computational, Biochemical, and Studies.

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (SCoV-2) has impacted the world in many ways and the virus continues to evolve and produce novel variants with the ability to cause frequent global outbreaks. Although the advent of the vaccines abated the global burden, they were not effective against all the variants of SCoV-2. This trend warrants shifting the focus on the development of small molecules targeting the crucial proteins of the viral replication machinery as effective therapeutic solutions.