Abstract

REMDESIVIR IN THE (SARS-COV-2) COVID-19 PANDEMIC; TREASURE OR TRASH?

Yelurkar Dipratna*, Deshmukh S. and Bawge S.

ABSTRACT

Remdesivir (GS-5734), a viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) inhibitor that can be used to treat a variety of RNA virus infections, is expected to be an effective treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Remdesivir, a prodrug of adenosine nucleotide analog, is an antiviral with a broad spectrum of activity that was tested on SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome infections. Remdesivir holds promise for treating COVID-19 based on in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2. In vitro studies conducted on SARSCoV-2 revealed that remdesivir inhibited viral replication with high selectivity index in cell cultures. In vivo studies showed that remdesivir reduced viral load in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and attenuated pulmonary infiltrates in infected animals. Numerous clinical trials have been initiated to identify an effective treatment in terms of clinical improvement, shortening the recovery time, mortality rate, and the duration of oxygen need, despite that some clinical trials did not reveal significant effect on remdesivir use. On May 1, 2020, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients. We presents comprehensive information on remdesivir, including information regarding the milestones, anti-coronavirus mechanisms, preclinical research and clinical trials, Chemical synthesis, chemistry and pharmacology of remdesivir in this review.

Keywords: Remdesivir (GS-5734), Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Antiviral.