The Chloroquine Story in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The emergence of COVID-19 has caused worldwide concern due to its high infectivity and mortality. Research groups around the world have prioritised drug development against COVID-19. Repurposing of already approved drugs, including the antimalarial drug chloroquine, has attracted considerable attention. The aim of this article is to (i) provide an overview of the recent chemical methods used to synthesise chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, and (ii) provide insight into the data collected in 2020 on their efficacy against COVID-19. Unfortunately, the promising early results have not been confirmed and a clear and unambiguous conclusion on their clinical efficacy has not yet been drawn. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Pojava COVIDA-19 uzrokovala je globalnu zabrinutost zbog visoke zaraznosti i mortaliteta. Stoga je razvoj lijekova protiv COVIDA-19 postao prioritet istraživačkim skupinama diljem svijeta. Pri tom je posebnu pozornost privukla moguća prenamjena prethodno odobrenih lijekova, uključujući i antimalarijski lijek klorokin. Cilj ovog rada je (i) prikazati pregled recentnih kemijskih metoda primijenjenih za sintezu klorokina i hidroksiklorokina te (ii) dati uvid u podatke o njihovoj učinkovitosti protiv COVIDA-19 prikupljene tijekom 2020. Nažalost, početni obećavajući rezultati nisu potvrđeni, a jasni i nedvosmisleni zaključci o kliničkoj učinkovitosti klorokina i hidroksiklorokina još nisu postignuti. (Croatian) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Kemija u Industriji is the property of Croatian Society of Chemical Engineers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)