DRI-C91005 for COVID-19

DRI-C91005 may be beneficial for COVID-19 according to the studies below. COVID-19 involves the interplay of 500+ viral and host proteins and factors providing many therapeutic targets. Scientists have proposed 11,000+ potential treatments. c19early.org analyzes 220+ treatments. We have not reviewed DRI-C91005 in detail.
Nodola et al., Recent Advances in the Design of Inhibitors Targeting the Viral Entry and Replication of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus, Driven by In Silico Approaches, Molecules, doi:10.3390/molecules31162877
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has significantly impacted global health, politics, medicine, finance, and society. Since 2020, various mutations have been reported, leading to drug resistance in current treatments against different SARS-CoV-2 strains and a drastic increase in cases of long-COVID. This situation underscores the urgent need to develop targeted and effective drugs to combat the spread of SARS-CoV-2 strains and their mutants, manage long-COVID symptoms and prepare for future pandemics. Currently, the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 focuses on targeting the virus’s entry and replication mechanisms to disrupt its life cycle. This review examines approved drugs, clinical candidates, and inhibitors under development, along with their bioassay data, while highlighting associated challenges. It illustrates how inhibitors bind to active sites, providing insights and emphasizing the importance of in silico studies, such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, FEP+, WaterMap, and quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) analyses, and their correlation with experimental studies in expediting the drug discovery process. The review aims to provide researchers with insights into the gaps that need to be addressed concerning mutations affecting viral entry and to prepare for future pandemics.
Bojadzic et al., Small-Molecule In Vitro Inhibitors of the Coronavirus Spike – ACE2 Protein-Protein Interaction as Blockers of Viral Attachment and Entry for SARS-CoV-2, bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2020.10.22.351056
ABSTRACTInhibitors of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and ACE2, which acts as a ligand-receptor pair that initiates the viral attachment and cellular entry of this coronavirus causing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, are of considerable interest as potential antiviral agents. While blockade of such PPIs with small molecules is more challenging than with antibodies, small-molecule inhibitors (SMIs) might offer alternatives that are less strain- and mutation-sensitive, suitable for oral or inhaled administration, and more controllable / less immunogenic. Here, we report the identification of SMIs of this PPI by screening our compound-library that is focused on the chemical space of organic dyes. Among promising candidates identified, several dyes (Congo red, direct violet 1, Evans blue) and novel drug-like compounds (DRI-C23041, DRI-C91005) inhibited the interaction of hACE2 with the spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 as well as SARS-CoV with low micromolar activity in our cell-free ELISA-type assays (IC50s of 0.2-3.0 μM); whereas, control compounds, such as sunset yellow FCF, chloroquine, and suramin, showed no activity. Protein thermal shift assays indicated that the SMIs identified here bind SARS-CoV-2-S and not ACE2. Selected promising compounds inhibited the entry of a SARS-CoV-2-S expressing pseudovirus into ACE2-expressing cells in concentration-dependent manner with low micromolar IC50s (6-30 μM). This provides proof-of-principle evidence for the feasibility of small-molecule inhibition of PPIs critical for coronavirus attachment/entry and serves as a first guide in the search for SMI-based alternative antiviral therapies for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by coronaviruses in general and COVID-19 in particular.