  A new coronavirus identified as SARS-CoV-2 virus has brought the world to a
state of crisis, causing a major pandemic, claiming more than 433,000 lives and
instigating major financial damage to the global economy. Despite current
efforts, developing safe and effective treatments remains a major challenge.
Moreover, new strains of the virus are likely to emerge in the future. To
prevent future pandemics, several drugs with various mechanisms of action are
required. Drug discovery efforts against the virus fall into two main
categories: (a) monoclonal antibodies targeting the spike protein of the virus
and blocking it from entry; (b) small molecule inhibitors targeting key
proteins of the virus, interfering with replication and translation of the
virus. In this study, we are presenting a computational investigation of a
potential drug candidate that targets SARS-CoV-2 protease, a viral protein
critical for replication and translation of the virus.
