Rifampicin for COVID-19

Table 1 Studies on the possible antiviral properties of rifampicin against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Ref.	Year	Findings
Becker[10]	1976	Rifampicin belongs to the rifamycins, characterized as antiviral drugs which inhibit transformation of cells by viruses
[24]	1969	Rifampicin has a direct antiviral effect in mammalian viruses as poxviruses including the causative agent of smallpox and on viruses which have their own RNA polymerase
Campbell et al[27]	2001	The inhibition mechanism of rifampicin to the RNA polymerases is a simple steric block of transcription elongation due to its ability to bind tightly to non-conserved parts of the structure, disrupting a critical RNA polymerase function
Ben-Ishai et al[28], Moss et al[29], McAuslan et al[30]	1969	Rifampicin inhibits the late viral protein synthesis, the virion assembly, and the viral polymerase itself
Moshkowitz et al[31]	1971	Rifampicin’s antiviral effect is dependent on the administration route, with local application resulting in higher concentrations at the site of viral replication
Tewes et al[32]	2008	Administration of rifampicin by nebulization is possible using aerosolized rifampicin-loaded polymeric microspheres
And et al[36]	1980	Intracellular rifampicin concentrations exhibit effective antiviral activity against: Influenza virus A, African swine fever virus and cytomegalovirus
Dardiri et al[37]	1971
Halsted et al[38]	1972