Medication therapy strategies for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): recent progress and challenges

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread globally since it outbroke in December 2019. The urgent pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to develop and identify effective medication therapy strategies to combat the COVID-19. Here, we summarized and evaluated the current treatment drugs and regimens, and put forward the treatment recommendations, including using the potential repurposed or experimental drugs against COVID-19, e.g., chloroquine (CQ), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), remdesivir (RDV), favipiravir (FPV). We also analyzed the specific drugs and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 ongoing development and formulated the comprehensive treatment regimens based on condition of patients, diseases and drugs as well as concomitant medications. No drugs and vaccines have been proven to be particularly effective against SARS-CoV-2 up to now. The recommended comprehensive medication therapy strategies have already displayed favorable effect in the fight against COVID-19. Research should be focused on the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs and vaccines based on high-quality clinical trial evidence, treatment guidelines and expert consensus.