Metallo therapeutics for COVID-19. Exploiting metal-based compounds for the discovery of new antiviral drugs

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for the rapid discovery of drugs against this life-threatening disease. Owing to the peculiar features of the metal centers that are currently used in medicinal chemistry, metallodrugs might offer an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal. Areas covered Two main strategies for developing metal-based drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 are herein illustrated. Firstly, a few clinically approved metallodrugs could be evaluated in patients according to a 'drug repurposing' approach. To this respect, the gold drug auranofin seems a promising candidate, but some other clinically established metal compounds are worthy of a careful evaluation as well. On the other hand, libraries of inorganic compounds, featuring a large chemical diversity, should be screened to identify the most effective molecules. This second strategy might be assisted by a pathway-driven discovery approach arising from a preliminary knowledge of the mode of action, exploitable to inhibit the functional activities of the key viral proteins. Also, attention must be paid to selectivity and toxicity issues. Expert opinion The medicinal inorganic chemistry community may offer a valuable contribution against COVID-19. The screening of metallodrugs' libraries can expand the explored 'chemical space' and increase the chance of finding effective anti-COVID agents.