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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

High-throughput Screening for Broad-spectrum Chemical Inhibitors of RNA Viruses
Published on: May 5, 2014
Viral and cellular RNA helicases as antiviral targets
Ann D Kwong1, B Govinda Rao, Kuan-Teh Jeang
1Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., 130 Waverly Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Although there has been considerable progress in the development of antiviral agents in recent years, there is still a pressing need for new drugs both to improve on the properties of existing agents and to combat the problem of viral resistance. Helicases, both viral and human, have recently emerged as novel targets for the treatment of viral infections. Here, we discuss the role of these enzymes, factors affecting their potential as drug targets and progress in the development of agents that inhibit their activity using the hepatitis C virus-encoded helicase NS3 and the cellular helicase DDX3 adopted for use by HIV-1 as examples.
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