Toremifene plus Emodin
Toremifene is among the approved first-generation nonsteroidal SERMs for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer68. SERMs (including toremifene) inhibited Ebola virus infection18 by interacting with and destabilizing the Ebola virus glycoprotein39. In vitro assays have demonstrated that toremifene inhibited growth of MERS-CoV17,69 and SARA-CoV38 (Table 1). Emodin, an anthraquinone derivative extracted from the roots of rheum tanguticum, has been reported to have various anti-virus effects. Specifically, emdoin inhibited SARS-CoV-associated 3a protein70, and blocked an interaction between the SARS-CoV spike protein and ACE2 (ref. 71). Altogether, network analyses and published experimental data suggested that combining toremifene and emdoin offered a potential therapeutic approach for 2019-nCoV/SARS-CoV-2 (Fig. 6c).