Recent Pharmacological Advances of Drugs and Vaccines Used in COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus originated pandemic disease also called Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spread all over the world resulting in asymptomatic condition to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) called SARS-CoV-2. It poses a difficult challenge to scientists, researchers, and practitioners to discover effective drugs for prevention and treatment. By using a huge amount of clinical data obtained from many SARS-CoV-2 infected people, clinicians are trying to gather accurate evidence for effective treatment and also developing a suitable vaccine system for the prevention of spread of infection. With no proven therapies which can treat and prevent SARS-CoV-2 developed until now, there is an opportunity for new researchers in virology to make an attempt at this crucial time. Currently, two strategies are active. The first is on developing completely new molecules to prevent and treat this disease, or the second is on testing the effectiveness of already available antivirals and other drugs for possible potential recovery and prevention. This includes testing several antivirals (Remdesivir, Favipiravir, etc) and antimalarials (Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, etc) for their potential therapies. Studies show that the most promising therapy is the use of antiviral Remdesivir. Remdesivir has shown the potential ability to exhibit in- vitro activity to control COVID-19. The drug is currently being tested by ongoing randomized trials. Until a widely accepted drug reaches the global market, different antiviral treatment strategies are used under urgent investigation plan. In this chapter, we review the latest research developments related to the systematic treatments for COVID-19 reported from various research labs in different countries. The chapter also provides a summary of various clinical research experience, intermediate results, and treatment guidance to combat the novel coronavirus epidemic based on pharmacotherapeutic analysis, along with insights to the attempts on vaccine development across the world in order to curb the COVID pandemic.