Medical News Since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, numerous novel antiviral therapeutic agents have been developed to target key proteases involved in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication. Nirmatrelvir and ensitrelvir, for example, are main protease (Mpro) inhibitors that are currently approved for the clinical treatment of COVID-19.
The continuous emergence of highly transmissible, pathogenic, and immune-evading SARS-CoV-2 variants has weakened the efficacy of existing antiviral agents. Moreover, the looming threat of future pandemics due to coronaviral reservoirs in bats and other small mammals emphasizes the importance of identifying novel therapeutics with pan-coronavirus activity.
A recent study published in Science Advances reports the recent discovery of Mpro inhibitors that exhibit broad activity against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses.