Table 1.

Targets, mechanism, usage, limitations, and improvements of the anti-COVID-19 drugs.

Name	Targets	Mechanism	Dose and usage	Limitations	Improvements
Remdesivir	RDRP	Integrated into the RNA chain to inhibit the replication of the viral genome	Intravenous injection, 10-days course, intravenous injection 200 mg for the 1st day and intravenous injection 100 mg for the following days	Hypotension, increased hepatic enzymes, and renal impairment	Unknown
Lopinavir/ritonavir	3CLpro	Inactivate the 3CLpro to block the cleaving and maturation of the protein	Peros, the course of treatment should be <10 days, 200 mg/50 mg/capsule, two capsules each time, twice per day	Gastrointestinal effects	Combination with other drugs or film-coated tablet formulation
Chloroquine	Intranuclear body, lysosome, and Golgi body	Increase the pH to block the whole virus life cycle	Peros, the course should be <10 days, <500 mg daily	Arrhythmias, immunosuppression	Dose <500 mg daily
Plasma therapy	SARS-CoV-2	Neutralize the SARS-CoV-2	Intravenously guttae, 200 mL of convalescent plasma with neutralization activity of >1:640	Limited source	Collection, storage, and distribution of plasma is of great importance
Glucocorticoid	Glucocorticoid receptor	Inhibit cytokine storms to prevent tissue and organ damage	Intravenous injection, 3–5 days course, less-than-equal to 1–2 mg/(kg·day) of methylprednisolone	Attenuate the host immunity	Usage and dose should be administered according to the patient's condition