What is the present status of drug discovery research for COVID-19?

Find
articles/ researches that will support your claims. 

Currently, faced with the rapid spread of the virus, scientists and
researchers are launching high volumes of clinical trials that will investigate
the potentiality and effectivity of certain drugs in preventing and treating
SARS-CoV-2 or COVID 19, a severe and viral acute respiratory syndrome.

Scientists have focused their efforts on repurposing drugs that were

previously used to treat similar viral respiratory syndromes such as SARS and
MERS-CoV or other ailments but show potential efficacy in these respiratory
syndromes.

Drugs such as Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine, that have been

used to prevent and treat malaria, systemic lupus erythematosus, and
rheumatoid arthritis, were considered due to their ability to block viral entry
into cells through inhibiting glycosylation of host receptors. Although there is
little to no high-quality evidence supporting its efficacy against SARS and
MER-CoV, a recent French study found that patients taking
Hydroxychloroquine had better viral clearance than patients receiving
supportive care. Other potential drugs include Lopinavir/Ritonavir, a drug used
to treat HIV and showed vitro activity against other novel coronaviruses
through 3-chymotrypsin-like protease inhibition; Ribavirin, a guanine analogue
used to inhibit viral RNA dependent RNA polymerase; and Oseltamivir and
Umifenovir, inhibitors used to treat influenza.

Other agents include interferon-B, demonstrating activity against

MERS-CoV; Nitazaxanid, an antihelminthic drug showing vitro antiviral activity
against MERS and SAR-CoV-2; and Camostat mesylate, a drug used to treat
pancreatitis, was shown to prevent nCoV cell entry through host serine
protease inhibition.

Aside from the drugs mentioned, selected investigational drugs such as

Remdesivir and Favipiravir are being studied and proposed, with Remdesivir
being the most promising and potent against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. According
to a research titled Tackling SARS-CoV-2 Infections using Remdesivir and
Favipiravir as Therapeutic Options; Remdesivir showed antiviral activities
against other coronaviruses via steric interaction with viral RNA dependent
RNA polymerase and inhibiting chain termination of translation of viral RNA
synthesis.

However, most of the drugs presented are still undergoing clinical trials
and further research. Some of the drugs also showed conflicting in vitro
results, particularly in effectivity and whether these drugs have a detrimental
or protective effect in COVID-19 patients. As for Remdesivir, the drug showing
the highest potential in vitro was already approved by the FDA for use in adult
and paediatric COVID-19 patients under the brand name Veklury on October
22, 2020.

SOURCES:

OBIREDDY, S. R., & Wing-Fu, L. (2020). Tackling SARS‐CoV‐2 Infections

using Remdesivir and Favipiravir as Therapeutic Options.
ChemBioChem. doi:10.1002/cbic.202000595

Sanders JM, Monogue ML, Jodlowski TZ, Cutrell JB. Pharmacologic Treatments for
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A
Review. JAMA. 2020;323(18):1824–1836. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6019

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2020, October 22). FDA Approves First
Treatment for COVID-19. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-
announcements/fda-approves-first-treatment-covid-19