Derivatization and combination therapy of current COVID-19 therapeutic agents: a review of mechanistic pathways, adverse effects, and binding sites.

Current treatment of patients with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) involves repurposed drugs that inhibit viral infection by either binding to their respective targets or via modulating cellular signal transduction. However, there is still a great deal of efficacy enhancement through combination therapy and derivatization. Combination therapy should involve agents with significant activity and different mechanisms of action.