Drug Repurposing: Challenges and Successes in the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak resulted in an economic burden, with millions of morbidity and mortality infections, due to the unavailability of treatment and limited resources in many developing countries. Drug repurposing was among the first ways to come up with a solution to combat the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide and save lives. Drug repurposing, well-defined as investigating new hints for approved drugs or progressing formerly considered but unapproved drugs, is the main approach in drug development. It is suggested that at least 30–40% of novel drugs and biologics permitted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2007 and 2009 can be considered repurposed or repositioned products. Here, we discuss some of the proposed and tested drugs as tools to eliminate COVID-19, the challenges and successes of preparing for future pandemics using the drug repurposing approach, and treating other diseases.