Activity of pleconaril against enteroviruses

D C Pevear1, T M Tull, M E Seipel

  • 1ViroPharma Incorporated, Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA. dpevear@viropharma.com

Insights

Pleconaril effectively inhibited enterovirus replication in cell cultures and improved survival rates in animal models. This antiviral drug shows promise for treating human enteroviral infections.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Pharmacology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Enteroviruses cause significant human illness.
  • Limited effective antiviral treatments exist for enteroviral infections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the antiviral activity of pleconaril against clinical enterovirus isolates.
  • To assess the efficacy of pleconaril in animal models of enteroviral infection.

Main Methods:

  • Cell culture assays were used to determine pleconaril's inhibitory concentration against enterovirus serotypes.
  • Animal models (mice) were used to test pleconaril's oral efficacy in prophylactic and therapeutic settings.

Main Results:

  • Pleconaril inhibited 50% of clinical enterovirus isolates at <=0.03 microM and 90% at <=0.18 microM.
  • Echovirus serotype 11, a prevalent serotype, was highly sensitive to pleconaril.
  • Pleconaril treatment increased survival rates in three lethal enterovirus infection models and reduced viral load in tissues.

Conclusions:

  • Pleconaril demonstrates potent in vitro and in vivo antiviral activity against a broad range of enteroviruses.
  • Pleconaril is a promising drug candidate for the treatment of human enteroviral infections.

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