IIT Roorkee to conduct research for identifying antivirals to tackle COVID-19

As cases of COVID-19 diseases in India continue to emerge and a vaccine to treat it is still awaited, Indian Institute of Techlogy (IIT) Roorkee will conduct an advanced study to identify structure-based potential anti-virals against vel Coronavirus.  objective of study will be to identify antiviral molecules to combat COVID-19 and an expedite process of identification of drugs through an in-silico approach that is based on computer-aided simulation of ir molecular structures will be followed.

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This development comes after a proposal led by Professor Pravindra Kumar has been given a go-ahead by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).

" study will identify small molecule inhibitors to target key viral replication enzymes- RNA dependent RNA polymerase (nsp12), viral proteases (Mpro and PL2pro) and Methyltransferase or MTase (nsp14). se enzymes are virus-specific that are encoded with genetic material (RNA) of viral pathogens. Virus-specific protease catalyses cleav of specific peptide bonds in viral polyproteins. study will be funded under intensification of Research in high-priority areas (IRHPA) under Department of Science and Techlogy (DST)," an official release said.

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groundwork of research has already been prepared by completion of in silico work based on high throughput virtual screening approach to assess binding affinity of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs targeting Mpro - a viral protease. study will lever a computer-based high throughput virtual screening approach to identify antiviral molecules from various compound libraries that will be validated for antiviral potential, release said.

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research will be conducted in collaboration with Prof. Shailly Tomar, Dept of Biotechlogy, IIT Roorkee, and Dr Gaurav Sharma from Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar who will aid in assessment of antiviral efficacy of identified molecule to treat SARS-CoV2.

Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee said that this approach can be path-breaking in identification of antiviral molecules to fight COVID-19. Whereas Prof. Kumar, Department of Biotechlogy, IIT Roorkee expressed his gratitude to  Science and Engineering Research Board for an opportunity to conduct  research.

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(With ncy inputs)