Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has motivated researchers all over the world in trying to find effective drugs and therapeutics for treating this disease. To save time, much effort has focused on repurposing drugs known for treating other diseases than COVID-19. To support these drug repurposing efforts, we built the CAS Biomedical Knowledge Graph and identified 1350 small molecules as potentially repurposable drugs that target host proteins and disease processes involved in COVID-19. A computer algorithm-driven drug-ranking method was developed to prioritize those identified small molecules. The top 50 molecules were analyzed according to their molecular functions and included 11 drugs in clinical trials for treating COVID-19 and new candidates that may be of interest for clinical investigation. The CAS Biomedical Knowledge Graph provides researchers an opportunity to accelerate innovation and streamline the investigative process not just for COVID-19 but also in many other diseases.
Highlights
To date, very few treatments have received FDA approval as therapeutics for COVID-19, while the need for such drugs remains high
Because COVID-19 is characterized by the impact of multiple, interlinked physiological systems, including pulmonary hyperinflammation, severe lung injury, blood coagulopathy, renal and neurological problems, and the cellular pathways that underlie these systems,[2,3] it is proposed that a knowledge graph approach would be of value in identifying the connections between these systems as well as potential therapeutics.[4−6]
The graph contains over 6 million nodes and 18 million relationships
Summary
Very few treatments have received FDA approval as therapeutics for COVID-19, while the need for such drugs remains high. This may not be obvious from traditional databases, which might show only direct inhibitors of transcription factor STAT3 or of vascular inflammation itself, but because a knowledge graph links multiple nodes via relationships, the second-level inhibitor alpelisib can be found This example illustrates how knowledge graphs can be used to manage, explore, and navigate through the interactions and connections between disparate pieces of information to gain insights and make predictions. These are just a few of the many possible uses that knowledge graphs could provide In this CAS Biomedical Knowledge Graph, we incorporated human diseases, proteins, small-molecule inhibitors, virus, and COVID-19-specific data for identifying small molecules that show potential for repurposing as COVID-19 therapeutics. The most highly ranked substances are discussed in terms of their possible relevance to COVID-19
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
