Development of Therapeutic and Prophylactic Zinc Compositions for Use against COVID-19: A Glimpse of the Trends, Inventions, and Patents

Abstract

Zinc is an essential nutrient for human health; it is involved in the catalytic, structural, and regulatory functions of the human cellular system. Different compositions of zinc, as well as its pharmaceutically acceptable salts, are available on the market. Recent studies have demonstrated the role of zinc in combating COVID-19. It has been determined that zinc prevents the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells by lowering the expression of ACE-2 receptors and inhibiting the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of SARS-CoV-2. Zinc also prevents the cytokine storm that takes place after the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the cell, via its anti-inflammatory activity. The authors believe that no study has yet been published that has reviewed the trends, inventions, and patent literature of zinc compositions to treat/prevent COVID-19. Accordingly, this review has been written in order to fill this gap in the literature. The information about the clinical studies and the published patents/patent applications was retrieved from different databases. This review covers patent literature on zinc compositions up to 31 January 2022. Many important patents/patent applications for zinc-based compositions filed by innovative universities and industries were identified. The patent literature revealed zinc compositions in combination with zinc ionophores, antioxidants, antivirals, antibiotics, hydroxychloroquine, heparin, ivermectin, and copper. Most of these studies were supported by clinical trials. The patent literature supports the potential of zinc and its pharmaceutical compositions as possible treatments for COVID-19. The authors believe that countless zinc-based compositions are still unexplored, and there is an immense opportunity to evaluate a considerable number of the zinc-based compositions for use against COVID-19.