Epclusa for COVID-19

Abstract Background Viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, influenza, mpox, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 pose a significant risk for future pandemics. Developing novel antiviral medicines can be time-consuming and resource intensive. Repurposing existing medicines with antiviral activity offers a faster, cost-effective strategy to expand treatment options during public health emergencies. This scan aimed to identify and synthesise recent evidence on repurposed antiviral medicines under investigation for these viruses. Method A horizon scanning approach was employed, starting with a targeted search in Embase, followed by a systematic search of ClinicalTrials.gov to capture the developmental stages of the technologies. Eligible technologies included UK- or EU-licensed medicines repurposed as antiviral therapies for the viruses of interest. Vaccines, unlicensed medicines, and already approved treatments for the targeted viruses were excluded. Results A total of 196 repurposed technologies targeting the viruses were identified from published literature, and the expanded search on the clinical trials registry yielded 58 technologies in active clinical development. Interventional clinical trial activity was limited to influenza and COVID-19, with 29 technologies for COVID-19 and two for influenza advancing to phase III evaluation. For other viruses, proposed antiviral candidates were identified in the literature but had not progressed into clinical development. Commonly investigated pharmacological classes included direct-acting antivirals, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, immunomodulators, and anti-inflammatory agents. Conclusion Repurposing antiviral medicines represents a pragmatic strategy for rapid therapeutic deployment against emerging viral threats. Collaboration among researchers, policymakers, research funders, and regulatory bodies will be essential to improve pandemic preparedness and support repurposing efforts in emergency situations.

The present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic scenario has posed a difficulty for cancer treatment. Even under ideal conditions, malignancies like small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are challenging to treat because of their fast development and early metastases. The treatment of these patients must not be jeopardized, and they must be protected as much as possible from the continuous spread of the COVID-19 infection. Initially identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the contagious coronavirus illness 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Finding inhibitors against the druggable targets of SARS-CoV-2 has been a significant focus of research efforts across the globe. The primary motivation for using molecular modeling tools against SARS-CoV-2 was to identify candidates for use as therapeutic targets from a pharmacological database. In the published study, scientists used a combination of medication repurposing and virtual drug screening methodologies to target many structures of SARS-CoV-2. This virus plays an essential part in the maturation and replication of other viruses. In addition, the total binding free energy and molecular dynamics (MD) modeling findings showed that the dynamics of various medications and substances were stable; some of them have been tested experimentally against SARS-CoV-2. Different virtual screening (VS) methods have been discussed as potential means by which the evaluated medications that show strong binding to the active site might be repurposed for use against SARS-CoV-2.