Bioactive Compounds for COVID

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Bioactive Compounds for Use in Inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 Viral Replication Tech-ID: UA20-172 Invention: University of Arizona inventors have discovered inhibitors targeting the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. These inhibitors have potential for use as therapeutics against COVID-19 as well as other SARS and MERS strains. Background: Viral outbreaks are not new; we have faced SARS, MERS, Nipah, Zika, and several other viral outbreaks in recent history. In late 2019, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19), started to circulate through humans. The World Health Organization declared this outbreak a pandemic due to its high transmission rates. COVID-19 is a beta coronavirus, similar to the human coronaviruses SARS and MERS. With this novel outbreak, there are now seven different strains of human coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are proving, over time, to be a severe threat to humans. Novel treatments that work against conserved areas will be beneficial in the short and long-term as we try to overcome the current and future pandemics.