Studies on the Pharmacodynamics and Druggability of ANL2 as an Antiviral Drug Candidate against SARS-CoV-2

We have discovered arylnaphtholignans with anti-HIV activity from plants. We further synthesized more than 100 aryl naphthalene lignan derivatives, and tested their anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro. Among them, the new compound ANL2 was found to have 16 times higher antiviral activity than the coronavirus drug remdesivir. Our mechanism study found that aryl naphthalenes act on host cells and have broad-spectrum antiviral properties, and thus they have the high potential for development as efficient inhibitors to resist mutant strains of the new coronavirus. In this study, we will prepare the compound through total synthesis, carry out its antiviral mechansims action study, and further evaluate its druggability through toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies in order to advance the compound as a drug candidate for treatment of COVID-19.