Abstract Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect both humans and animals. In humans, CoVs can cause respiratory, kidney, heart, brain, and intestinal infections that can range from mild to lethal. Since the start of the 21st century, three β‐coronaviruses have crossed the species barrier to infect humans: severe‐acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)‐CoV‐1, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)‐CoV, and SARS‐CoV‐2 (2019‐nCoV). These viruses are dangerous and can easily be transmitted from human to human. Therefore, the development of anticoronaviral therapies is urgently needed. However, to date, no approved vaccines or drugs against CoV infections are available. In this review, we focus on the medicinal chemistry efforts toward the development of antiviral agents against SARS‐CoV‐1, MERS‐CoV, SARS‐CoV‐2, targeting biochemical events important for viral replication and its life cycle. These targets include the spike glycoprotein and its host‐receptors for viral entry, proteases that are essential for cleaving polyproteins to produce functional proteins, and RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase for viral RNA replication.
【저자키워드】 COVID‐19, antivirals, SARS‐CoV‐2, main protease inhibitors, MERS‐CoV, SARS‐CoV‐1, human coronavirus, 【초록키워드】 viruses, Vaccine, therapy, Human, spike glycoprotein, Infection, Proteins, drug, protease, MERS, viral entry, Brain, SARS‐CoV‐2, kidney, Replication, Viral, animals, viral replication, humans, heart, Antiviral agents, Mild, CoV, target, Viral RNA, Proteases, respiratory, antiviral agent, Middle East respiratory syndrome, Middle East, focus, life cycle, biochemical, these viruses, syndrome, CoVs, CoV infection, effort, SARS‐CoV‐1, polyprotein, polyproteins, RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase, infect, event, intestinal, include, transmitted, approved, functional, These viruses, cleaving, 【제목키워드】 outbreak, Perspective,