Experimental Pharmacology for COVID-19 Treatment: A Geoanalytical Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to produce a geo-referenced map of the status of R&D in COVID-related studies in the world.

Methods: Spatial mapping of bibliometric data of Cortellis Drug Discovery Intelligence through a spatial bibliometric model with the aid of a GIS (Geographic Information System) called ArcGIS and the software.

Results: We show the countries that have the most studies related to COV ID-19 and their degree of collaboration. No drug discovery-related activity was found in South America and Africa. A geo-referenced map of the most active countries in COVID research was constructed as well as conceptual maps of the 11 most representative drugs employed for COVID treatment.

Conclusion: The georeferenced conceptual maps produced in the present report allow not only to better understand the leading institutions in R&D in COVID-19 related drugs but also to visualize their interactions and research relationships. This could offer, in addition to a coherent, organized multinational effort, the possibility of searching for other drugs that have been employed for other diseases and that, in terms of their conceptual relations, could represent some possibilities for treating the coronavirus SARS-2.

Keywords: COVID-19; R&D; RNA viruses; Spatial bibliometric; experimental pharmacology; geographic information system.