Comparative assessment of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitors under clinical trials to control SARS-CoV2 using rigorous computational workflow

The devastating effect of SARS-CoV2 continues and the scientific community is pursuing to find the strategy to combat the spread of the virus. The approach is adapted to target this virus with medicine in combination with existing vaccines. For this, the medications that can specifically inhibit an enzyme essential for viral replication ‘RNA-dependant-RNA polymerase (RdRp)’ of SARS-CoV2 are being developed. RdRp is the enzyme commonly found in all RNA viruses but is absent in humans. There are in total 60 different RdRp inhibitors already under clinical trials for combating other RNA viruses, which are sought to even work for SARS-CoV2. These inhibitors are classified as nucleoside/nucleotide analogues and nonnucleoside/nonnucleotide analogues. In this study, all the known RdRp inhibitors were computationally targeted in the native form and their active form making the use of molecular docking, MM-GBSA and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to find the top two of each nucleoside/nucleotide analogues and nonnucleoside/nonnucleotide analogues. The results showed ribavirin 5′-triphosphate and favipiravir ribonucleoside triphosphate (favipiravir-RTP) to be the top two nucleotide analogues while pimodivir and dihydropyrazolopyridinone analogue 8d were the top two nonnucleosides/non-nucleotide analogues.