IIT-Roorkee discovers antiviral molecules to treat Covid-19

Subject : Science

Context-

Researchers at IIT-Roorkee have identified “anti-viral molecules” that they say can be used to treat Covid-19.

About the research-

The team identified three such antiviral molecules through drug repurposing, computational and antiviral experimental studies.
College officials said the Covid-19 pandemic spurred both computational and experimental studies all over the world to understand the structure and nature of SARS-COV-2 viral proteins and develop vaccines and cures for it.
These studies have resulted in the availability of a “protein data bank”, which is a repository of structures of proteins and viruses.
The team focused on discovering molecules that acted on a specific part of the viral proteins called nucleotide-binding pockets (NBP).
The NBP binds to the nucleotides — the building blocks of RNA and DNA—and helps in the replication of the virus.
NBP-targeting drugs are known and used for viral diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Herpes, among others.
The team is executing protein structure-based drug-repurposing research on SARS-CoV-2 molecules for clinical evaluation and eventual use as antiviral therapeutics.