Avoralstat for COVID-19

 Avoralstat has been reported as potentially beneficial for COVID-19 in the following studies.
COVID-19 involves the interplay of 350+ viral and host proteins and factors providing many therapeutic targets. Scientists have proposed 10,000+ potential treatments. c19early.org analyzes 210+ treatments. We have not reviewed avoralstat in detail.
Schultz et al., Pyrimidine inhibitors synergize with nucleoside analogues to block SARS-CoV-2, Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-022-04482-x
Yang et al., Recent advances in application of computer-aided drug design in anti-COVID-19 Virials Drug Discovery, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116423
Bakowski et al., Drug repurposing screens identify chemical entities for the development of COVID-19 interventions, Nature Communications, doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23328-0
AbstractThe ongoing pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), necessitates strategies to identify prophylactic and therapeutic drug candidates for rapid clinical deployment. Here, we describe a screening pipeline for the discovery of efficacious SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. We screen a best-in-class drug repurposing library, ReFRAME, against two high-throughput, high-content imaging infection assays: one using HeLa cells expressing SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and the other using lung epithelial Calu-3 cells. From nearly 12,000 compounds, we identify 49 (in HeLa-ACE2) and 41 (in Calu-3) compounds capable of selectively inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication. Notably, most screen hits are cell-line specific, likely due to different virus entry mechanisms or host cell-specific sensitivities to modulators. Among these promising hits, the antivirals nelfinavir and the parent of prodrug MK-4482 possess desirable in vitro activity, pharmacokinetic and human safety profiles, and both reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication in an orthogonal human differentiated primary cell model. Furthermore, MK-4482 effectively blocks SARS-CoV-2 infection in a hamster model. Overall, we identify direct-acting antivirals as the most promising compounds for drug repurposing, additional compounds that may have value in combination therapies, and tool compounds for identification of viral host cell targets.
Wagoner et al., Combinations of Host- and Virus-Targeting Antiviral Drugs Confer Synergistic Suppression of SARS-CoV-2, Microbiology Spectrum, doi:10.1128/spectrum.03331-22
Imagine a future viral pandemic where if you test positive for the new virus, you can quickly take some medicines at home for a few days so that you do not get too sick. To date, only single drugs have been approved for outpatient use against SARS-CoV-2, and we are learning that these have some limitations and may succumb to drug resistance.