Drug repurposing is a more inexpensive and shorter approach than the traditional drug discovery and development process. The concept of identifying a potent molecule from a library of pre-existing molecules or an already approved drug has become a go-to tactic to accelerate the identification of drugs that can prevent COVID-19. This seemingly uncontrollable disease is caused by SARS-CoV-2. It is a novel virus of the Betacoronavirus genus, exhibiting similarities to the previously reported SAR-CoV genome structure and viral pathogenesis. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the rapid outbreak of COVID-19 have resulted in a global pandemic. Researchers are hard-pressed to develop new drugs for total containment of the disease, thus making the cost-effective drug repurposing a much more feasible approach. Therefore, the current review attempts to collate both the experimental and computational drug repurposing strategies that have been utilized against significant drug targets of SARS-CoV-2. Along with the strategies, the available druggable targets shall also be discussed. However, the occurrence of frequent recombination of the viral genome and time-bound primary analysis, resulting in insignificant data, are two major challenges that drug repurposing still faces.

Malaria, the severe vector-borne disease has embedded serious consequences on mankind since ages, causing deterioration of health, leading to deaths. The causative parasite has a wide distribution aligned from tropical to subtropical regions. Out of all the five species Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum have registered about more than 600 million cases worldwide. Throughout the decades, identification of various antimalarial drugs, targets, preventive measures and advancement of vaccines were achieved. The key to executing malaria elimination is the appropriate laboratory diagnosis. Development includes positive scientific judgments for a vaccine, advanced progress of 3 non-pyrethroid insecticides, novel genetic technologies, possibilities to alter malaria parasite mediation by the mosquito, identification of drug resistance markers, initiation of Plasmodium vivax liver stage assessment, perspective to mathematical modeling and screening for active ingredients for drugs and insecticides. Although the last century witnessed many successful programs with scientific progress, however, this was matched with notable obstacles. The mutation in the genes has changed the overall gameplay of eradication. This chapter aims to examine the numerous experimental and theoretical works that have been established in the last two decades along with the ongoing methodologies consisting of detailed explanations necessary for the establishment of new targets and drugs.

Withania somnifera consists of various bioactive compounds, of which withanone (WT−N) and withaferin‐A (WT−A) are known to have many therapeutic properties. To understand drug metabolism and transportation methods, binding of endogenous and exogenous ingredients with transport proteins is of utmost importance. Therefore, to perceive the molecular recognition mechanism of WT−N and WT−A, the association of human serum albumin, human hemoglobin and human lysozyme with WT−N and WT−A were examined, using various in silico techniques. For our study, we have employed both quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics approaches. Resultantly, drug‐like properties and reactivity were calculated with WT−N and WT−A being the most reactive among all the withanolides. The protein HSA in presence of WT−N showed more stability than that of WT−A. However, HL and Hb showed better stability with WT−A as compared to WT−N. Several non‐covalent interactions contributed the utmost part in the binding of WT−N and WT−A with the proteins. The MD simulation studies also showed evidence in the conformational changes and other dynamical properties of the three proteins with both the ligands. Finally, MM‐PBSA results confirmed the free binding energy of the complexes. Our study has provided a substantial recognition of bioactive molecules WT−N and WT−A binding with the carrier proteins, which can significantly affect the pharmacokinetics of these molecules.

The prospect of cancer treatment has drastically transformed over the last four decades. The side effects caused by the traditional methods of cancer treatment like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy through the years highlight the prospect for a novel, complementary, and alternative cancer therapy. Oncolytic virotherapy is an evolving treatment modality that utilizes oncolytic viruses (OVs) to selectively attack cancer cells by direct lysis and can also elicit a strong anti-cancer immune response. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) provides a very high safety profile compared to other oncolytic viruses. Extensive research worldwide concentrates on experimenting with and better understanding the underlying mechanisms by which oncolytic NDV can be effectively applied to intercept cancer. This review encapsulates the potential of NDV to be explored as an oncolytic agent and discusses current preclinical and clinical research scenarios involving various NDV strains.

Psychosis includes hallucination, illusion, and delusion. Psychotic symptoms are quite uncommon in disorders like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Biploar affective disorder (BPAD) but Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder. In this review, we focus on PTSD with psychosis, depression with psychosis and BPAD with psychosis. We mainly shed light on how psychosis related to PTSD, BPAD, and depression as well cover the pharmacological approach to deal with these disorders. We also extend our limit to other management like electroconvulsive therapy and lithium. The main aim of this review is to cover the role of psychosis in different psychiatric disorders and what are its present scenarios with future scope to combat it.