What is it about?
According to the world health organization (WHO, September 2021), more than 200 million people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 (confirmed cases), claiming more than 4.5 million deaths. A worldwide race to understand this new virus and develop novel and effective treatment regimens and vaccinations have begun. Based on the rising success of peptides as drugs, many were investigated in the context of COVID-19, and some are already in clinical trials. The review presents a snapshot of the current situation in which peptides are being used in clinical trials based on the information provided on the webpage ClinicalTrials.gov.
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Why is it important?
Lots of progress is being made in the last two decades in the field of peptides, especially in the peptide drug area. The constant growth of peptide drugs as well as using peptides for diagnostics has brought many new methods, approaches and applications. However, in the minds of many researchers not working in this field, there are still misconceptions and prejudice in regards to the potential of peptides. This review shows that peptides indeed play a role in various aspects to overcome COVID-19. I hope that this raises more awareness and also reflects the outstanding work of the researchers in the field.
Perspectives
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was hopeful that antiviral peptides could come to aid against this viral infection. In the database for antiviral peptides, there are about 3,000 peptides described with antiviral activity. At least one of them should be able to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, I thought. Consequently, I followed clinical trials in the context of COVID-19 and peptides. I did not find novel antiviral peptides, there seem to be not yet ready for human trials, but a wealth of other applications. I thought that these various efforts are worth sharing with the community.
Prof Kai Hilpert
St Georges University of London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Peptides in COVID-19 Clinical Trials—A Snapshot, Biologics, October 2021, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/biologics1030018.
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