Research progress on therapeutic drugs for corona virus disease 2019

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. At present, there is no specific antiviral drug for this virus, and the main clinical treatment is support and symptomatic treatment. Direct targeting the virus and the host targets are two strategies for the development of antiviral drugs. At present, the research and development of COVID-19 therapeutic drugs has made some progress on both approaches. Here we review potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs to discuss the antiviral mechanisms and potential of these drugs from the perspectives of virus and host. The role of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of COVID-19 is discussed along with the prospects for drug treatment strategies of COVID-19.