Application of Artificial Intelligence in COVID-19 drug repurposing

Background and aim: COVID-19 outbreak has created havoc and a quick cure for the disease will be a therapeutic medicine that has usage history in patients to resolve the current pandemic. With technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) coupled with increased computational power, the AI-empowered drug repurposing can prove beneficial in the COVID-19 scenario. Methods: The recent literature is studied and analyzed from various sources such as Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore databases. The search terms used are 'COVID-19', 'AI', and 'Drug Repurposing'. Results: AI is implemented in the field design through the generation of the learning-prediction model and performs a quick virtual screening to accurately display the output. With a drug-repositioning strategy, AI can quickly detect drugs that can fight against emerging diseases such as COVID-19. This technology has the potential to improve the drug discovery, planning, treatment, and reported outcomes of the COVID-19 patient, being an evidence-based medical tool. Conclusions: Thus, there are chances that the application of the AI approach in drug discovery is feasible. With prior usage experiences in patients, few of the old drugs, if shown active against SARS-CoV-2, can be readily applied to treat the COVID-19 patients. With the collaboration of AI with pharmacology, the efficiency of drug repurposing can improve significantly. (c) 2020 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.