Antiviral drug
hideAntiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections. Like antibiotics for bacteria, specific antivirals are used for specific viruses. Unlike antibiotics, antiviral drugs do not destroy their target pathogen but inhibit their development.
Antiviral drugs are one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes antibiotic, antifungal and antiparasitic drugs. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. They should be distinguished from viricides, which are not medication but destroy virus particles outside the body.
Most of the antivirals now available are designed to help deal with HIV, herpes viruses (best known for causing cold sores and genital herpes, but actually causing a wide range of diseases), the hepatitis B and C viruses, which can cause liver cancer, and influenza A and B viruses. Researchers are working to extend the range of antivirals to other families of pathogens.
Designing safe and effective antiviral drugs is difficult, because viruses use the host's cells to replicate. This makes it difficult to find targets for the drug that would interfere with the virus without harming the host organism's cells.
The emergence of antivirals is the product of a greatly expanded knowledge of the genetic and molecular function of organisms, allowing biomedical researchers to understand the structure and function of viruses, major advances in the techniques for finding new drugs, and the intense pressure placed on the medical profession to deal with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of the deadly acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic.
Almost all anti-microbials, including anti-virals, are subject to drug resistance as the pathogens mutate over time, becoming less susceptible to the treatment. For instance, a recent study published in Nature Biotechnology emphasized the urgent need for augmentation of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) stockpiles with additional antiviral drugs including zanamivir (Relenza) based on an evaluation of the performance of these drugs in the scenario that the 2009 H1N1 'Swine Flu' neuraminidase (NA) were to acquire the tamiflu-resistance (His274Tyr) mutation which is currently wide-spread in seasonal H1N1 strains.
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News tagged with antiviral drugs
New effort probes how two groups of viruses cause disease
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Purdue University is leading a team of researchers in a federally funded effort aimed ultimately at developing better vaccines and antiviral drugs against two types of disease-causing viruses ...
TGen seeks emergency FDA approval of new swine flu test
Oct 29, 2009 |
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The Phoenix-based non-profit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) announced today that, along with a business collaborator, it will submit a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use of ...
FDA sees no safety issues with Pfizer HIV drug
Medicine & Health / Medications
Oct 06, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration says an HIV drug from Pfizer appears safe for expanded use in patients who have not taken other drugs to combat the virus.
Researchers decode structure of an entire HIV genome
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Aug 05, 2009 |
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The structure of an entire HIV genome has been decoded for the first time by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The results have widespread implications for understanding the strategies ...
Researchers identify new drug target for Kaposi's sarcoma
Jul 30, 2009 |
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UCSF researchers have identified a new potential drug target for the herpes virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma, re-opening the possibility of using the class of drugs called protease inhibitors against the full herpes family ...
Researchers warn: 'Antivirals might be wasted on the elderly'
Jul 28, 2009 |
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A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young. Researchers writing in the open access journal ...
H1N1 influenza pandemic modeling for public health action
Jul 20, 2009 |
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Mathematical modelling can help inform public health policy in outbreaks such as the H1N1 pandemic, write members of the Pandemic Influenza Outbreak Research Modelling Team in Canada in a CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Jo ...
Fighting drug-resistant flu viruses
Jul 15, 2009 |
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Amid reports that swine flu viruses are developing the ability to shrug off existing antiviral drugs, scientists in Japan are reporting a first-of-its kind discovery that could foster a new genre of antivirals ...
Britain faces 100,000 swine flu cases a day: minister
Jul 02, 2009 |
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Britain could have more than 100,000 cases of swine flu a day by the end of August, the government said Thursday, while stressing there was no need for alarm.
Ultrasensitive detector promises improved treatment of viral respiratory infections
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Jun 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A Vanderbilt chemist and a biomedical engineer have teamed up to develop a respiratory virus detector that is sensitive enough to detect an infection at an early stage, takes only a few minutes ...
US prescription drug use fell in 2008, study says
Medicine & Health / Medications
May 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Prescription drug use in the U.S. fell last year, although total spending on drugs increased as prices rose sharply on brand-name products, pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions said Wednesday.
WHO urges restraint on Tamiflu in swine flu cases
May 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- With swine flu still spreading, the U.N. health agency is warning countries to limit their use of antiviral drugs to only high-risk patients to ensure adequate supplies in case the virus should mutate and become ...
Outwitting mutating flu during a pandemic
May 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a global influenza pandemic, small stockpiles of a secondary flu medication - if used early in local outbreaks - could extend the effectiveness of primary drug stockpiles, according to research made available ...
Nanotechnology holds promise for STD drug delivery
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
May 03, 2009 |
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Yale researchers describe a breakthrough in safe and effective administration of potential antiviral drugs — small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules that silence genes — the first step in development of a ...
Humans are responsible for swine flu
May 01, 2009 |
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Swine flu. Bird flu. Mad cow disease. SARS. These diseases have all spread from animals to humans in one form or another. But animals aren't to blame for outbreaks of animal-borne diseases -- humans are.
