The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak has created health
havoc all over the world. Till now, no definite treatment has been found to combat the
COVID-19 outbreak, probably due to a poor understanding of the molecular
mechanism of this infection. As it’s a health devastating situation, so due to lack of
proper time for research, clinicians all over the world are exploring the already
approved drug such as lopinavir, ritonavir, chloroquine (CQ), hydroxychloroquine
(HCQ), azithromycin (AZ), remdesivir, favipiravir, ribavirin, nitozoxanide, interferon-
α (IFN), arbidol, corticosteroids, ivermectin, teicoplanin, herbal drugs, etc. for antiviral
activity. Previous studies suggest that these drugs act by different mechanisms
such as prevention of entry and fusion of the virus with host cell by blocking
angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptor and increasing endosomal pH
respectively, inhibition of RNA polymerase and protease enzyme, inhibition of
inflammatory pathway by blocking toll-like receptors (TLR’s), inhibition of RNA
synthesis, interference of glycosylation of cellular receptor, suppression of immune
response, etc. Besides these drugs, few humanized monoclonal antibodies such as
tocilizumab and sarilumab are also shown to be effective against COVID-19 by
blocking interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptors. In addition to these drugs, convalescent plasma
therapy is also being used to treat COVID-19 patients. Focus is on the development of
a vaccine for COVID-19 at the earliest and indeed, many vaccines are in various stages
of the development process, with some under clinical trials. This review gives an
exhaustive view of current therapeutic strategies for the management of COVID-19.
Keywords: ACE-2, Arbidol, Azithromycin, COVID-19, Corticosteroids,
Favipiravir, Hydroxychloroquine, IL-6, Immune response, Interferon-α,
Ivermectin, Lopinavir, Monoclonal antibodies, Plasma therapy, Protease,
Remdesivir, Ribavirin, Ritonavir, RNA polymerase, TLR’s, Tocilizumab.
