4.2. Potential Drug Targets
It has been observed that there isn’t a prescribed regimen to follow while treating COVID-19 as patients can exhibit a spectrum of clinical symptoms. However, understanding the structure of the virus as well as its mechanism of entry and infection of host cells has led to the discovery of various drug targets that have been effective in the treatment of disease. Essentially, the enzymes and proteins that are crucial for viral replication and the control of the host cellular functions can serve as potential drug targets . Thus, new drugs or antagonists need to be developed that inhibit these enzymes, proteins, and receptors which are solely required for the survival and multiplication of viruses. Various drug targets that can be targeted for therapy are discussed below.