Drug Repurposing and New Therapeutic Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 Disease Using a Novel Molecular Modeling-AI Hybrid Workflow

Author(s):  
Scott Bembenek

<p>The recent<b> </b>outbreak of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) poses a significant challenge to the scientific and medical communities to find immediate treatments. The usual process of identifying viable molecules and transforming them into a safe and effective drug takes 10-15 years, with around 5 years of that time spent in preclinical research and development alone. The fastest strategy is to identify existing drugs or late-stage clinical molecules (originally intended for other therapeutic targets) that already have some level of efficacy. To this end, we tasked our novel molecular modeling-AI hybrid computational platform with finding potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M<sup>pro</sup>, 3CL<sup>pro</sup>). Over 13,000 FDA-approved drugs and clinical candidates (represented by just under 30,000 protomers) were examined. This effort resulted in the identification of several promising molecules. Moreover, it provided insight into key chemical motifs surely to be beneficial in the design of future inhibitors. Finally, it facilitated a unique perspective into other potentially therapeutic targets and pathways for SARS-CoV-2.</p>

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Bembenek

<p>The recent<b> </b>outbreak of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) poses a significant challenge to the scientific and medical communities to find immediate treatments. The usual process of identifying viable molecules and transforming them into a safe and effective drug takes 10-15 years, with around 5 years of that time spent in preclinical research and development alone. The fastest strategy is to identify existing drugs or late-stage clinical molecules (originally intended for other therapeutic targets) that already have some level of efficacy. To this end, we tasked our novel molecular modeling-AI hybrid computational platform with finding potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M<sup>pro</sup>, 3CL<sup>pro</sup>). Over 13,000 FDA-approved drugs and clinical candidates (represented by just under 30,000 protomers) were examined. This effort resulted in the identification of several promising molecules. Moreover, it provided insight into key chemical motifs surely to be beneficial in the design of future inhibitors. Finally, it facilitated a unique perspective into other potentially therapeutic targets and pathways for SARS-CoV-2.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Bembenek

<p>The recent<b> </b>outbreak of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) poses a significant challenge to the scientific and medical communities to find immediate treatments. The usual process of identifying viable molecules and transforming them into a safe and effective drug takes 10-15 years, with around 5 years of that time spent in preclinical research and development alone. The fastest strategy is to identify existing drugs or late-stage clinical molecules (originally intended for other therapeutic targets) that already have some level of efficacy. To this end, we tasked our novel molecular modeling-AI hybrid computational platform with finding potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M<sup>pro</sup>, 3CL<sup>pro</sup>). Over 13,000 FDA-approved drugs and clinical candidates (represented by just under 30,000 protomers) were examined. This effort resulted in the identification of several promising molecules. Moreover, it provided insight into key chemical motifs surely to be beneficial in the design of future inhibitors. Finally, it facilitated a unique perspective into other potentially therapeutic targets and pathways for SARS-CoV-2.</p>


Author(s):  
Carlos Javier Alméciga-Díaz ◽  
Luisa N. Pimentel-Vera ◽  
Angela Caro ◽  
Angela Mosquera ◽  
Camilo Andrés Castellanos Moreno ◽  
...  

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) was first described in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China; and produced by a novel coronavirus designed as the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Covid-19 has become a pandemic reaching over 1.3 million confirmed cases and 73,000 deaths. Several efforts have been done to identify pharmacological agents that can be used to treat patients and protect healthcare professionals. The sequencing of the virus genome not only has offered the possibility to develop a vaccine, but also to identified and characterize the virus proteins. Among these proteins, main protease (Mpro) has been identified as a potential therapeutic target, since it is essential for the processing other viral proteins. Crystal structures of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and inhibitors has been described during the last months. To describe additional compounds that can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, in this study we performed a molecular docking-based virtual screening against a library of experimental and approved drugs. Top 10 hits included Pictilisib, Nimorazole, Ergoloid mesylates, Lumacaftor, Cefuroxime, Cepharanhine, and Nilotinib. These compounds were predicted to have higher binding affinity for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro than previously reported inhibitors for this protein, suggesting a higher potential to inhibit virus replication. Since the identified drugs have both pre-clinical and clinical information, we consider that these results may contribute to the identification of treatment alternative for Covid-19. Nevertheless, in vitro and in vivo confirmation should be performed before these compounds could be translated to the clinic.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhik Kumar Ray ◽  
Parth Sarthi Sen Gupta ◽  
Saroj Kumar Panda ◽  
Satyaranjan Biswal ◽  
Malay Kumar Rana

<p>COVID-19, responsible for several deaths, demands a cumulative effort of scientists worldwide to curb the pandemic. The main protease, responsible for the cleavage of the polyprotein and formation of replication complex in virus, is considered as a promising target for the development of potential inhibitors to treat the novel coronavirus. The effectiveness of FDA approved drugs targeting the main protease in previous SARS-COV (s) reported earlier indicates the chances of success for the repurposing of FDA drugs against SARS-COV-2. Therefore, in this study, molecular docking and virtual screening of FDA approved drugs, primarily of three categories: antiviral, antimalarial, and peptide, are carried out to investigate their inhibitory potential against the main protease. Virtual screening has identified 53 FDA drugs on the basis of their binding energies (< -7.0 kcal/mol), out of which the top two drugs Velpatasvir (-9.1 kcal/mol) and Glecaprevir (-9.0 kcal/mol) seem to have great promise. These drugs have a stronger affinity to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease than the crystal bound inhibitor α-ketoamide 13B (-6.7 kcal/mol) or Indinavir (-7.5 kcal/mol) that has been proposed in a recent study as one of the best drugs for SARS-CoV-2. The <i>in-silico</i> efficacies of the screened drugs could be instructive for further biochemical and structural investigation for repurposing. The molecular dynamics studies on the shortlisted drugs are underway. </p>


Author(s):  
Yogesh Kumar ◽  
Harvijay Singh

<div>The rapidly enlarging COVID-19 pandemic caused by novel SARS-coronavirus 2 is a global</div><div>public health emergency of unprecedented level. Therefore the need of a drug or vaccine that</div><div>counter SARS-CoV-2 is an utmost requirement at this time. Upon infection the ssRNA genome</div><div>of SARS-CoV-2 is translated into large polyprotein which further processed into different</div><div>nonstructural proteins to form viral replication complex by virtue of virus specific proteases:</div><div>main protease (3-CL protease) and papain protease. This indispensable function of main protease</div><div>in virus replication makes this enzyme a promising target for the development of inhibitors and</div><div>potential treatment therapy for novel coronavirus infection. The recently concluded α-ketoamide</div><div>ligand bound X-ray crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (PDB ID: 6Y2F) from Zhang et al.</div><div>has revealed the potential inhibitor binding mechanism and the determinants responsible for</div><div>involved molecular interactions. Here, we have carried out a virtual screening and molecular</div><div>docking study of FDA approved drugs primarily targeted for other viral infections, to investigate</div><div>their binding affinity in Mpro active site. Virtual screening has identified a number of antiviral</div><div>drugs, top ten of which on the basis of their bending energy score are further examined through </div><div>molecular docking with Mpro. Docking studies revealed that drug Lopinavir-Ritonavir, Tipranavir</div><div>and Raltegravir among others binds in the active site of the protease with similar or higher</div><div>affinity than the crystal bound inhibitor α-ketoamide. However, the in-vitro efficacies of the drug</div><div>molecules tested in this study, further needs to be corroborated by carrying out biochemical and</div><div>structural investigation. Moreover, this study advances the potential use of existing drugs to be</div><div>investigated and used to contain the rapidly expanding SARS-CoV-2 infection.</div>


Author(s):  
Yogesh Kumar ◽  
Harvijay Singh

<div>The rapidly enlarging COVID-19 pandemic caused by novel SARS-coronavirus 2 is a global</div><div>public health emergency of unprecedented level. Therefore the need of a drug or vaccine that</div><div>counter SARS-CoV-2 is an utmost requirement at this time. Upon infection the ssRNA genome</div><div>of SARS-CoV-2 is translated into large polyprotein which further processed into different</div><div>nonstructural proteins to form viral replication complex by virtue of virus specific proteases:</div><div>main protease (3-CL protease) and papain protease. This indispensable function of main protease</div><div>in virus replication makes this enzyme a promising target for the development of inhibitors and</div><div>potential treatment therapy for novel coronavirus infection. The recently concluded α-ketoamide</div><div>ligand bound X-ray crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (PDB ID: 6Y2F) from Zhang et al.</div><div>has revealed the potential inhibitor binding mechanism and the determinants responsible for</div><div>involved molecular interactions. Here, we have carried out a virtual screening and molecular</div><div>docking study of FDA approved drugs primarily targeted for other viral infections, to investigate</div><div>their binding affinity in Mpro active site. Virtual screening has identified a number of antiviral</div><div>drugs, top ten of which on the basis of their bending energy score are further examined through </div><div>molecular docking with Mpro. Docking studies revealed that drug Lopinavir-Ritonavir, Tipranavir</div><div>and Raltegravir among others binds in the active site of the protease with similar or higher</div><div>affinity than the crystal bound inhibitor α-ketoamide. However, the in-vitro efficacies of the drug</div><div>molecules tested in this study, further needs to be corroborated by carrying out biochemical and</div><div>structural investigation. Moreover, this study advances the potential use of existing drugs to be</div><div>investigated and used to contain the rapidly expanding SARS-CoV-2 infection.</div>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhik Kumar Ray ◽  
Parth Sarthi Sen Gupta ◽  
Saroj Kumar Panda ◽  
Satyaranjan Biswal ◽  
Malay Kumar Rana

<p>COVID-19, responsible for several deaths, demands a cumulative effort of scientists worldwide to curb the pandemic. The main protease, responsible for the cleavage of the polyprotein and formation of replication complex in virus, is considered as a promising target for the development of potential inhibitors to treat the novel coronavirus. The effectiveness of FDA approved drugs targeting the main protease in previous SARS-COV (s) reported earlier indicates the chances of success for the repurposing of FDA drugs against SARS-COV-2. Therefore, in this study, molecular docking and virtual screening of FDA approved drugs, primarily of three categories: antiviral, antimalarial, and peptide, are carried out to investigate their inhibitory potential against the main protease. Virtual screening has identified 53 FDA drugs on the basis of their binding energies (< -7.0 kcal/mol), out of which the top two drugs Velpatasvir (-9.1 kcal/mol) and Glecaprevir (-9.0 kcal/mol) seem to have great promise. These drugs have a stronger affinity to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease than the crystal bound inhibitor α-ketoamide 13B (-6.7 kcal/mol) or Indinavir (-7.5 kcal/mol) that has been proposed in a recent study as one of the best drugs for SARS-CoV-2. The <i>in-silico</i> efficacies of the screened drugs could be instructive for further biochemical and structural investigation for repurposing. The molecular dynamics studies on the shortlisted drugs are underway. </p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhik Kumar Ray ◽  
Parth Sarthi Sen Gupta ◽  
Saroj Kumar Panda ◽  
Satyaranjan Biswal ◽  
Malay Kumar Rana

<p>COVID-19, responsible for several deaths, demands a cumulative effort of scientists worldwide to curb the pandemic. The main protease, responsible for the cleavage of the polyprotein and formation of replication complex in virus, is considered as a promising target for the development of potential inhibitors to treat the novel coronavirus. The effectiveness of FDA approved drugs targeting the main protease in previous SARS-COV (s) reported earlier indicates the chances of success for the repurposing of FDA drugs against SARS-COV-2. Therefore, in this study, molecular docking and virtual screening of FDA approved drugs, primarily of three categories: antiviral, antimalarial, and peptide, are carried out to investigate their inhibitory potential against the main protease. Virtual screening has identified 53 FDA drugs on the basis of their binding energies (< -7.0 kcal/mol), out of which the top two drugs Velpatasvir (-9.1 kcal/mol) and Glecaprevir (-9.0 kcal/mol) seem to have great promise. These drugs have a stronger affinity to the SARS-CoV-2 main protease than the crystal bound inhibitor α-ketoamide 13B (-6.7 kcal/mol) or Indinavir (-7.5 kcal/mol) that has been proposed in a recent study as one of the best drugs for SARS-CoV-2. The <i>in-silico</i> efficacies of the screened drugs could be instructive for further biochemical and structural investigation for repurposing. The molecular dynamics studies on the shortlisted drugs are underway. </p>


Author(s):  
Yong-Ming Yan ◽  
Xin Shen ◽  
Yong-Kai Cao ◽  
Jiao-Jiao Zhang ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
...  

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) causes novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP). Given that approved drug repurposing becomes a common strategy to quickly find antiviral treatments, a collection of FDA-approved drugs can be powerful resources for new anti-NCP indication discoveries. In addition to synthetic compounds, Chinese Patent Drugs (CPD), also play a key role in the treatment of virus related infections diseases in China. Here we compiled major components from 38 CPDs that are commonly used in the respiratory diseases and docked them against two drug targets, ACE2 receptor and viral main protease. According to our docking screening, 10 antiviral components, including hesperidin, saikosaponin A, rutin, corosolic acid, verbascoside, baicalin, glycyrrhizin, mulberroside A, cynaroside, and bilirubin, can directly bind to both host cell target ACE2 receptor and viral target main protease. In combination of the docking results, the natural abundance of the substances, and botanical knowledge, we proposed that artemisinin, rutin, glycyrrhizin, cholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, puerarin, oleanic acid, andrographolide, matrine, codeine, morphine, chlorogenic acid, and baicalin (or Yinhuang Injection containing chlorogenic acid and baicalin) might be of value for clinical trials during a 2019-nCov outbreak.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuvasish Choudhury ◽  
Purbajyoti Saikia ◽  
Debojyoti Moulick ◽  
Muhammed Khairujjaman Mazumder

Abstract The pandemic due to the novel coronavirus 2019, SARS-CoV-2, has led to a global health and economic crisis. The disease, named coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has already affected 3090445 and killed over 217769 people worldwide, as of April 30, 2020. So far, there is no specific effective medicine or vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Several existing and approved drugs are under clinical studies for re-purposing. However, owing to the emergent situation and thereby to avoid time needed for de novo drug discovery, drug re-purposing remains to be the best option to find an effective therapeutic against the virus. Thus, the preset study was designed to evaluate potency of 82 compound/drugs in inhibiting the main protease (3CLPro) of SARS-CoV-2, using molecular docking tool. This protease is a vital enzyme for replication of the virus, and is thus a promising drug target. The analyzed compounds include 16 known protease inhibitors, two recently suggested α-ketoamides, 24 recently reported putative inhibitors, and 40 phytochemicals. The results indicate that Ritonavir, Indinavir, Montelukast, Nelfinavir, Candoxatril, Tigecycline and Lopinavir to be very potent protease inhibitors. Further, several other drugs and compounds, including phytochemicals, have been identified / predicted to be potent in inhibiting the enzyme. In addition, we hereby report relative efficacies of these compounds in inhibiting 3CLPro. Thus, the present study is significant in the therapeutic intervention of COVID-19.


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