SARS‐CoV‐2 PLpro Inhibition: Evaluating in Silico Repurposed Fidaxomicin's Antiviral Activity Through In Vitro Assessment

Abstract

Abstract The emergence of drug‐resistant viruses and novel strains necessitates the rapid development of novel antiviral therapies. This need was particularly demanding during the COVID‐19 pandemic. While de novo drug development is a time‐consuming process, repurposing existing approved medications offers a more expedient approach. In our prior in silico screening of the DrugBank database, fidaxomicin emerged as a potential SARS‐CoV‐2 papain‐like protease inhibitor. This study extends those findings by investigating fidaxomicin‘s antiviral properties in vitro. Our results support further exploration of fidaxomicin as a therapeutic candidate against SARS‐CoV‐2, given its promising in vitro antiviral activity and favorable safety profile.

Keywords

• antiviral therapy
• drug repurposing
• fidaxomicin
• SARS-CoV-2 PLpro
• in vitro