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Prospects for adenovirus antivirals
Paul R Kinchington1, Eric G Romanowski, Y Jerold Gordon
1Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Centre, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Kinchingtonp@upmc.edu
The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
|March 4, 2005
Summary
Developing effective antiviral treatments for adenoviruses, which cause infectious diseases affecting multiple organs, remains challenging. Current research explores various compounds for topical and systemic use, addressing unmet clinical needs.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Adenoviruses cause highly infectious, multi-organ diseases, including epidemic keratoconjunctivitis and severe systemic infections in immunocompromised patients.
- Current treatment landscape lacks licensed systemic or topical antiviral therapies for adenovirus infections in the USA and Europe.
- Increasing morbidity and mortality in specific patient groups, especially pediatric bone marrow transplant recipients, highlight the urgent need for effective treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing and potential antiviral compounds targeting adenoviruses.
- To discuss the clinical development prospects of these antiviral agents.
- To identify challenges in evaluating the clinical efficacy of adenovirus antivirals.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of compounds explored for antiviral activity against adenoviruses.
- Analysis of clinical evaluations of selected compounds in topical (ocular) and systemic settings.
- Discussion of challenges in clinical trial design and efficacy assessment.
Main Results:
- Multiple compounds have demonstrated in vitro activity against various adenovirus serotypes.
- Some compounds have undergone limited clinical evaluation for ocular or systemic adenovirus infections.
- No licensed systemic or topical adenovirus antiviral is currently available.
Conclusions:
- The development of effective adenovirus antivirals is complex due to viral diversity and lack of approved treatments.
- Further research and clinical trials are necessary to evaluate promising compounds for both topical and systemic applications.
- Addressing challenges in clinical evaluation is crucial for bringing new adenovirus therapies to patients.