Discovering Compounds to Treat & Prevent SARS-COV-2
The long-range goal of this work is to advance computer-based approaches for drug discovery to eventually eliminate the need for animal studies. Our immediate goal is to discover compounds to treat or prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. Rather than using the more traditional virus-based antiviral strategy, we will target human proteins that are involved in enabling the virus to gain entry into human cells or to replicate within human cells after gaining entry. Among the advantages of our host-targeted antiviral procedure is that it can be extended to non-human hosts and to additional pathogens, including certain bacteria, fungi, and other viruses.
Funded by the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation (ARDF).