Drug repurposing during public health crises
During the COVID-19 pandemic, several drugs were repurposed under emergency authorization, including Remdesivir, an antiviral developed as a treatment for Ebola to reduce virus replication, and Dexamethasone, a widely used steroid that reduces mortality in hospitalized patients requiring ventilation. In silico modelling can be used to accelerate drug repurposing and rapidly simulate the efficacy and interactions of drugs. An Elsevier and ExactCure study identified 20 candidates for repurposing by leveraging compounds known to disrupt coronavirus-induced cytokine storm using this approach.