News

Anatomy of a molecule:
What makes remdesivir unique?

Experts weigh in on the chemistry of the potential SARS-nCoV-2 antiviral
Laurel Oldach
March 17, 2020

The World Health Organization in late January convened experts to discuss experimental therapeutics for patients with the emerging coronavirus with no name, no vaccine and no treatment. The panel reported that “among the different therapeutic options, remdesivir was considered the most promising candidate.”

Within weeks, a clinical trial of the compound was underway in China. Results are expected in April; in the meantime, the outbreak of SARS-nCoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has become a global pandemic.

Remdesivir is a nucleoside analog, one of the oldest classes of antiviral drugs. It works by blocking the RNA polymerase that coronaviruses and related RNA viruses need to replicate their genomes and proliferate in the host body.

The molecule originally was synthesized as part of a screen for inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus RNA polymerase. Its inventors at Gilead Sciences decided to move forward with a different nucleoside analog compound to treat hepatitis C. But RNA-dependent RNA polymerases are conserved between many viruses. Experiments in vitro, in cell culture and in animal models have shown that remdesivir has broad-spectrum activity against RNA viruses, including filoviruses (like the one that causes Ebola) and coronaviruses.

Remdesivir resembles the RNA base adenosine, shown here as a monophosphate.

AMP.jpg

The compound and ATP have some important differences, but some features are very similar. ASBMB Today spoke to medicinal chemist Katherine Seley–Radtke at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and structural virologist Craig Cameron at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill about what makes the molecule interesting. Click on a feature marked in blue to read their remarks.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition monthly and the digital edition weekly.

Learn more
Laurel Oldach

Laurel Oldach is a former science writer for the ASBMB.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Science

Science highlights or most popular articles

FDA approves CRISPR–Cas9 therapy for sickle cell disease
News

FDA approves CRISPR–Cas9 therapy for sickle cell disease

Dec. 8, 2023

The gene editing treatment from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics is the first of its kind

From the journals: MCP
Journal News

From the journals: MCP

Dec. 8, 2023

Metals contaminate protein samples. Lipid droplets go haywire in Huntington’s. Nerve cells respond to stimulation. Read about these recent papers.

The perfect storm
Feature

The perfect storm

Dec. 6, 2023

The world has 2023 Nobel laureates Katalin Karikó, Drew Weissman and others to thank for laying a foundation for the COVID-19 vaccine decades before the pandemic.

Throw your hat in the ring!
Annual Meeting

Throw your hat in the ring!

Dec. 6, 2023

Apply to speak at Discover BMB in Chicago in 2025.

How bacteria inhibit gene expression
Journal News

How bacteria inhibit gene expression

Dec. 5, 2023

Researchers show how altering activity of the transcription factor CarD can cause downregulation and upregulation of some genes.

Where the heck did all those structures inside complex cells come from?
Feature

Where the heck did all those structures inside complex cells come from?

Dec. 3, 2023

Scientists agree that eons ago, a bacterium took up residence inside another cell and became its powerhouse, the mitochondrion. But there are competing theories about the birth of other organelles such as the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum.