<p>There have been more than 116,000 recorded deaths
worldwide to-date caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19), and over 1.8 million individuals are currently infected. Although
there are now hundreds of clinical trials for COVID-19, there are currently no
effective licensed treatments, while the numbers of infected individuals continue
to rise at an exponential rate in many parts of the world. Here, we used a
data-driven approach utilizing connectivity mapping and the transcriptional
signature of lung carcinoma cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, to search for drugs
across the spectrum of medicine that have repurposing potential for treating COVID-19.
We also performed chemoinformatic analyses to test whether the identified compounds
were predicted to physically interact with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA
polymerase or main protease enzymes. Our study identified commonly prescribed FDA-approved
molecules as important candidates for drug repositioning against COVID-19,
including flupentixol, reserpine, fluoxetine, trifluoperazine, sunitinib, atorvastatin,
raloxifene, butoconazole, and metformin. These drugs should not be taken for
treating or preventing COVID-19 without a doctor’s advice, as further research
and clinical trials are now needed to elucidate their efficacy for this purpose.</p>