Covid: IIT-Roorkee to work on identifying antivirals

BENGALURU: A proposal by a team led by Prof Pravindra Kumar at IIT-Roorkee for identification of structure-based potential antivirals against SARS-CoV2 has garnered the support of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The study, which will be funded under Intensification of Research in High Priority areas (IRHPA) will search for small molecule inhibitors targeting some of the most important viral replication enzymes.
“These enzymes are viral proteases (papain-like protease and 3CLprotease), RNA dependent RNA polymerase (nsp12), and the Methyltransferase or MTase (nsp14). Viral proteases, which are enzymes encoded by the genetic material (DNA or RNA) of viral pathogens, catalyze the cleavage of specific peptide bonds in cellular proteins,” DST said.
DST added that in the study, a computer-based high throughput virtual screening approach will be used to identify antiviral molecules from different compound libraries that will be experimentally validated for antiviral potential.
The collaborators Dr Shailly Tomar from IIT Roorkee and Dr Gaurav Sharma from Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, will help in experimental testing and evaluation of the antiviral efficacy of the identified antiviral molecules against SARS-CoV-2.
As a preliminary work, the investigators have already performed the in silico (performed on computer) work by high-throughput virtual screening approach to examine the binding affinity of FDA approved drugs targeting the viral protease Mpro.
“The hunt for new drugs, including repurposed drug candidates, is getting a boost by in silico approaches, which allude to identifying the potential antiviral molecules based on computer simulation of their molecular structures. This approach is expected to be much faster and accurate in selection of potential drugs and vaccines for experimental and clinical testing,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.
Using a structure-based approach for drug re-purposing, this study would pave the way to identify the molecules that bind to Mpro active site, and their potential can be used as antiviral molecules against Covid-19, the DST added.