The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is currently causing an unprecedented global health emergency
since its emergence in December 2019. In December 2021, the FDA granted emergency use
authorization to nirmatrelvir, a SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor, for treating
infected patients. This peptidomimetic is designed with a nitrile warhead, which forms a
covalent bond to the viral protease. Herein, we investigate nirmatrelvir analogs with
different warheads and their inhibitory activities. In addition, antiviral activities
against human alphacoronavirus 229E was also investigated along with a cell-based assay.
We discovered that the hydroxymethylketone and ketobenzothiazole warheads were
equipotent to the nitrile warhead, suggesting that these analogs can also be used for
treating coronavirus infections.
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