Table 1.

List of potential drugs explored for the treatment of COVID-19.

Class/Drug	Dose	Rationale	Trials
Antivirals
Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/RTV)	i. LPV 400 mg/RTV 100 mg BID PO x 14 d ii. LPV 400 mg/RTV 100 mg PO BID x 21 d iii. LPV 400 mg/RTV 100 mg PO x 14 d ± ribavirin (loading dose 4 g, 1.2 g x 8 hourly PO)	HIV protease inhibitor In vitro activity vis-à-vis SARS-CoV and NERS-CoV No data vis-à-vis SARS-CoV-2	Randomized trial: not effective A cohort study and anecdotal experience: results inconsistent
Remdesivir	i. 200 mg IV x d1; 100 mg IV x d2–5 ii. 200 mg IV x d1; 100 mg IV x d2–10 iii. 200 mg IV x d1; 100 mg IV x daily up to 10 days	Nucleoside analogue Broad-spectrum antiviral against coronaviruses	Shortens the time to recovery in adults with no effect on mortality
Favipiravir (Avigan)	200 mg tablets (1200 mg PO first dose; 400 mg PO x d1; 400 mg BID PO xd2–5)	Activity against RNA viruses and indicated in influenza resistant to Tamiflu It has a teratogenic effect	Chinese non-randomized trial-effective
Antimalarials
Chloroquine (CQ)	500 mg BID PO x 10 d	Immunomodulatory effect and reduce the production of cytokines. In vitro antiviral activity vis-à-vis SARS-CoV-2; HCQ is more potent and less toxic	Chinese and French trials; non-randomized; results inconclusive Anecdotal reports Included for treatment and prophylaxis in protocols. Preliminary report from large scale randomized trial did not show any significant reduction in 28-day mortality. HCQ also show no beneficial effect in post-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)	i. 400 mg BID PO x d1; 200 mg BID PO x d2–5 ii. 200 mg TID PO x 10 days (French trial) iii. 400 mg BID PO x d1; 400 mg PO once weekly x 3–7 wk (ICMR, prophylaxis)
Antihypertensive drug
Losartan	50 mg QID POi	Hypothetical: may block ACE2 receptors and inhibit virus binding Can also upregulate ACE2, which may harm host	Clinical trial underway
Immunosuppressive drugs
Tocilizumab	IV infusion: 4-8 mg/kg x 60 min; if needed repeat at 12 hr (max dose 800 mg)	Recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody against IL-6 receptor To treat cytokine storm syndrome	Case study and series, rapid improvement in cytokine-related symptoms
Corticosteroids	Parenteral	Anti-inflammatory to treat extended cytokine response; treatment for ARDS and sepsis	Dexamethasone 6 mg once daily lowered 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those receiving no respiratory support. Treat shock and/or ARDS
Antibiotic
Azithromycin	i. 500 mg QID PO x d1; 250 mg QID PO x d2–5 ii. 500 mg PO QID x 7 days iii. 500 mg PO x QID 5 days	Macrolide and antibacterial immunomodulators downregulate inflammatory response; reduce cytokine production and inhibit cytokine actions No antiviral effect is known	French trial as an adjunct to HCQ MERS-CoV: large retrospective analysis – no advantage
Convalescent plasma	Plasma from recovered COVI-19 patients	Convalescent COVID-19 patients may have high titre antibodies (titre > 1:320).	Trials to treat severe/life-threatening disease (not allowed for prevention)