These are drugs that attack retroviruses like HIV. Antiretrovirals block or slow down an enzyme that retroviruses use to chop up DNA. If a virus can’t chop DNA, it can’t make more of itself and can’t make you sick. Because coronavirus also uses this enzyme, there was some hope that already existing antiretrovirals could fight the COVID-19 virus. Unfortunately, there’s little evidence that it works on coronavirus. But hope is not lost — there are other antivirals out there! There are currently clinical trials investigating if the antiviral drug remdesivir works against coronavirus.