The new strain of Coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2), and the resulting Covid-19 disease has spread swiftly across the globe after its initial detection in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, resulting in a pandemic status declaration by WHO within 3 months Given the heavy toll of this pandemic, researchers are actively testing various strategies including new and repurposed drugs as well as vaccines In the current brief report, we adopted a repositioning approach using insilico molecular modeling screening using FDA approved drugs with established safety profiles for potential inhibitory effects on Covid-19 virus We started with structure based drug design by screening more than 2000 FDA approved drugs /against Covid-19 virus main protease enzyme (Mpro) substrate-binding pocket to identify potential hits based on their binding energies, binding modes, interacting amino acids, and therapeutic indications In addition, we elucidate preliminary pharmacophore features for candidates bound to Covid-19 virus Mpro substratebinding pocket The tohits include anti-viral drugs such as Darunavir, Nelfinavirand Saquinavir, some of which are already being tested in Covid-19 patients Interestingly, one of the most promising hits in our screen is the hypercholesterolemia drug Rosuvastatin These results certainly do not confirm or indicate antiviral activity, but can rather be used as a starting point for further in vitro and in vivo testing, either individually or in combination /div
Identification of FDA Approved Drugs Targeting COVID-19 Virus by Structure-Based Drug Repositioning