Pharmaceutical research
-
Pharmaceutical research · Oct 2020
A Systems Biology Workflow for Drug and Vaccine Repurposing: Identifying Small-Molecule BCG Mimics to Reduce or Prevent COVID-19 Mortality.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is expected to continue to cause worldwide fatalities until the World population develops 'herd immunity', or until a vaccine is developed and used as a prevention. Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to identify alternative means of antiviral defense. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine that has been recognized for its off-target beneficial effects on the immune system can be exploited to boast immunity and protect from emerging novel viruses. ⋯ Our results provide systems biology support for using BCG and small-molecule BCG mimics as putative vaccine and drug candidates against emergent viruses including SARS-CoV-2.