Potential RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitors as prospective drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2

Mohamed S Bekheit; Siva S Panda; Adel S Girgis

doi:10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115292

Potential RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitors as prospective drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2

Eur J Med Chem. 2023 Apr 5:252:115292. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115292. Epub 2023 Mar 18.

Authors

Mohamed S Bekheit¹, Siva S Panda², Adel S Girgis³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pesticide Chemistry, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
² Department of Chemistry and Physics, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA. Electronic address: sspanda12@gmail.com.
³ Department of Pesticide Chemistry, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt. Electronic address: as.girgis@nrc.sci.eg.

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is considered as one of the most disastrous pandemics for human health and the world economy. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is one of the key enzymes that control viral replication. RdRp is an attractive and promising therapeutic target for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 disease. It has attracted much interest of medicinal chemists, especially after the approval of Remdesivir. This study highlights the most promising SARS-CoV-2 RdRp repurposed drugs in addition to natural and synthetic agents. Although many in silico predicted agents have been developed, the lack of in vitro and in vivo experimental data has hindered their application in drug discovery programs.

Keywords: COVID-19; Computational studies; Favipiravir; Molnupiravir; Polymerase; RdRp; Remdesivir; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Antiviral Agents / pharmacology
Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
COVID-19*
Humans
RNA, Viral / genetics
RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
SARS-CoV-2*
Virus Replication

Substances

RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
Antiviral Agents
RNA, Viral