The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the world. While the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been a significant step forward, the emergence of new virus variants has underscored the necessity for additional strategies to combat the virus. It is where antiviral drugs come into play to prevent viral replication and slow or stop the spread of the virus. 

The current study, published in Nature Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, focused on a new antiviral drug called SY110. The study found that SY110 is a potent inhibitor of Mpro, a protease enzyme that plays a critical role in the replication of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.