In vitro screening of a FDA approved chemical library reveals potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication

Abstract

A novel coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2, emerged in 2019 from Hubei region in China and rapidly spread worldwide. As no approved therapeutics exists to treat Covid-19, the disease associated to SARS-Cov-2, there is an urgent need to propose molecules that could quickly enter into clinics. Repurposing of approved drugs is a strategy that can bypass the time consuming stages of drug development. In this study, we screened the Prestwick Chemical Library(R) composed of 1,520 approved drugs in an infected cell-based assay. 90 compounds were identified. The robustness of the screen was assessed by the identification of drugs, such as Chloroquine derivatives and protease inhibitors, already in clinical trials. The hits were sorted according to their chemical composition and their known therapeutic effect, then EC50 and CC50 were determined for a subset of compounds. Several drugs, such as Azithromycine, Opipramol, Quinidine or Omeprazol present antiviral potency with 2<EC50<20{micro}M. By providing new information on molecules inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro, this study could contribute to the short-term repurposing of drugs against Covid-19.