Looking to fill a treatment gap, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is launching the first stage of a $100 million prize competition to support development of broad-spectrum, small-molecule antiviral therapies targeting viruses in the Togaviridae and Flaviviridae families.
Looking to fill a treatment gap, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is launching the first stage of a $100 million prize competition to support development of broad-spectrum, small-molecule antiviral therapies targeting viruses in the Togaviridae and Flaviviridae families.
Orthoflaviruses such as dengue, West Nile and Zika viruses are a threat to public health for which no specific treatments exist. Their protease NS2B-NS3, also called orthoflavivirin, is an attractive drug target because it is essential for virus maturation. Targeting viral proteases has already proven effective for creating drugs against HIV, hepatitis C and SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
The envelope (E) proteins of Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) present a high degree of homology, which can lead to cross-reactive antibodies that exacerbate disease through antibody-dependent enhancement. This enormously challenges the development of effective ZIKV vaccines.
Deficiencies in interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), a protein that normally regulates the immune response, causes mild but persistent inflammation. However, its absence also provides an unexpected advantage by increasing resistance to viral infections. Inspired by this condition and using mRNA technology, scientists at Columbia University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a broad-spectrum antiviral platform.
Deficiencies in interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), a protein that normally regulates the immune response, causes mild but persistent inflammation. However, its absence also provides an unexpected advantage by increasing resistance to viral infections. Inspired by this condition and using mRNA technology, scientists at Columbia University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a broad-spectrum antiviral platform.
CNCCS SCARL Collezione Nazionale Dei Composti Chimici E Centro Screening and IRBM SpA have prepared new serine protease NS3/non-structural protein 2B (NS3/NS2B) (dengue virus) and/or (West Nile virus) and/or (Zika virus) and/or Japanese encephalitis virus inhibitors.
Researchers from the Access to Advanced Health Institute and collaborating institutions have developed a promising new bivalent vaccine candidate that can protect against both yellow fever and Zika viruses. The study demonstrates that the vaccine elicits robust humoral and cellular immune responses in mice and hamsters and provides complete protection against lethal viral challenges.
In the search for more potent, safe and effective autophagy inhibitor compounds, researchers from the Wayne State University School of Medicine have developed novel piperazine- and piperidine-substituted quinoline derivatives GL-287 and GL-382, based on the quinoline scaffold of hydroxychloroquine.
Transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels are known to play a key role in regulating nervous system excitability and they have been previously implicated in seizure development.
