Machine learning reveals potential COVID-19 therapeutic compounds

A drug screen using machine learning has identified hundreds of potential drugs that could be used to treat COVID-19, researchers say. Researchers have used machine learning to identify hundreds of new potential drugs that could help treat COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The study was conducted at the University of California, Riverside, US. "There is an urgent need to identify effective drugs that treat or prevent COVID-19," said Professor Anandasankar Ray, who led the research. "We have developed a drug discovery pipeline that identified several candidates… Existing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs that target one or more human proteins important for viral entry and replication are currently high priority for repurposing as new COVID-19 drugs. The demand is high for additional drugs or small molecules that can interfere with both entry and replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the body. Our drug discovery pipeline can help."