Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic: December 2019–May 2020

Anti-Infectives
Roland E. Dolle

Roland E. Dolle

Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

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Donald J. Abraham

Donald J. Abraham

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

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Bryan Norman

Bryan Norman

Norman Drug Discovery Training and Consulting, Indianapolis, IN, USA

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Michael Kinch

Michael Kinch

Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

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First published: 27 April 2021

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic was officially declared by the World Health Organization on 11 March, 2020. From the initial public reports from China in December 2019, the contagion blazed its way from ground zero in Wuhan, China into 165 countries. The health disaster caught the planet by surprise. At the time of this writing, 6.6 million COVID-19 cases were confirmed worldwide. Central and South America are the latest hotspots. Utilizing state-of-the-art science and technology, industry, government, and academic enterprises internationally are engaged in a monumental campaign to combat and eliminate the viral threat. Small-molecule therapeutics discovery largely by way of drug repurposing and accelerated vaccine development are at the forefront of this campaign. Within five months time, 500 unique therapeutic agents have advanced into development, >150 clinical trials initiated, and seven agents authorized for emergency use. This article presents a snapshot of these activities as of 29 May 2020.

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