In vitro screening of a FDA approved chemical library reveals potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication

Sci Rep. 2020 Aug 4;10(1):13093. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-70143-6.

Abstract

A novel coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2, emerged in 2019 in China and rapidly spread worldwide. As no approved therapeutics exists to treat COVID-19, the disease associated to SARS-Cov-2, there is an urgent need to propose molecules that could quickly enter into clinics. Repurposing of approved drugs is a strategy that can bypass the time-consuming stages of drug development. In this study, we screened the PRESTWICK CHEMICAL LIBRARY composed of 1,520 approved drugs in an infected cell-based assay. The robustness of the screen was assessed by the identification of drugs that already demonstrated in vitro antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. Thereby, 90 compounds were identified as positive hits from the screen and were grouped according to their chemical composition and their known therapeutic effect. Then EC50 and CC50 were determined for a subset of 15 compounds from a panel of 23 selected drugs covering the different groups. Eleven compounds such as macrolides antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, antiarrhythmic agents or CNS drugs emerged showing antiviral potency with 2 < EC50 ≤ 20 µM. By providing new information on molecules inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro, this study provides information for the selection of drugs to be further validated in vivo. Disclaimer: This study corresponds to the early stages of antiviral development and the results do not support by themselves the use of the selected drugs to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antiviral Agents / chemistry
  • Antiviral Agents / metabolism
  • Antiviral Agents / pharmacology
  • Betacoronavirus / isolation & purification
  • Betacoronavirus / physiology*
  • COVID-19
  • Caco-2 Cells
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Drug Approval
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
  • Drug Repositioning
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / pathology
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / metabolism
  • Small Molecule Libraries / pharmacology
  • Vero Cells
  • Virus Replication / drug effects

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Small Molecule Libraries