Host-Directed FDA-Approved Drugs With Antiviral Activity Against SARS-CoV-2 Identified by Hierarchical In Silico/In Vitro Screening Methods

The study aimed to identify FDA-approved drugs with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 using a hierarchical in silico/in vitro screening method. This approach combined virtual and biological screening to efficiently find host-directed therapies for COVID-19. The researchers focused on host-based targets related to viral entry and experimentally evaluated the antiviral activity of selected compounds. As a result, they identified five potentially repurposable drugs that interfere with viral entry: cepharantine, clofazimine, metergoline, imatinib, and efloxate.