Drug Repurposing Studies in the Progress to Combat COVID-19

Currently, there are no treatment options for the deadly emerging COVID19 infectious disease. The process of identifying new potential clinical applications for existing licensed and approved drugs is referred to as “drug repurposing.” It is also known as drug repositioning or drug re-profiling, or drug re-tasking, which is widely regarded as both cost-effective and efficient. Since few drugs have absolute selectivity of action, many other drugs have the potential to work against other diseases or new diseases. Clinical trials should begin with Phase III or IV studies because these trials use substances with proven biochemical and physiologic effects (which were already proven in Phase I and II clinical studies), potentially saving money and time. Hence, it is regarded as a useful technique for drug discovery because it takes less time and money to identify a therapeutic agent. This review summarizes the various repurposed drugs and possible new avenues for drug discovery to combat COVID-19. The Casirivimab and Imdevimab combination (Ronapreve) is approved for COVID-19 disease treatment based on regulatory reliance on the USFDA and EMA. 

Keywords: Casirivimab, Corticosteroid therapy, COVID-19 treatment, Cytokine storm syndrome (CSS), Drug repurposing, Imdevimab, REGEN-COV, Remdesivir, Ronapreve.