Abstract

We would like to draw attention to the potential of immunomodulatory tetracyclines for severe COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on developing countries. A successful approach to manage the scarcity of cost-effective therapies worldwide is drug repurposing. Predictions of direct anti-viral activity of tetracyclines against SARS-CoV2 have been confirmed experimentally. Furthermore, their effectiveness in experimental ARDS has been proven extensively, counteracting the overt inflammatory reaction and fibrosis sequelae due to a synergic combination of pharmacological activities. Finally, a few clinical reports have confirmed their potentiall in COVID-19 patients, encouraging the development of this novel indication. We believe that the benefits of their multi-target pharmacology and their safety profile place immunomodulatory tetracyclines as gold repurposing candidates for COVID-19.