Meeting report: 26th International Conference on Antiviral Research

The 26th International Conference on Antiviral Research (ICAR) was held in San Francisco, California from May 11 to 15, 2013. This article summarizes the principal invited lectures at the meeting. The opening symposium on the legacy of the late Antonín Holý included presentations on his pioneering work with nucleotide analogs, which led to the development of several antiviral drugs including tenofovir. This drug has transformed the treatment of HIV infection and has recently become the first-line therapy for chronic hepatitis B. The Gertrude Elion Award lecturer described the anti-HIV activities of the CCR5 inhibitor cenicriviroc and the reverse transcriptase inhibitor festinavir®, and also reviewed the evaluation of biodegradable nanoparticles with adjuvant activity. The William Prusoff Award winner reported on the creation of NAOMI, a computer model with 21 enzymes to predict the activity of nucleoside analogs against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Other invited lecturers discussed the development of countermeasures against severe dengue and the potential of RNA virus capping and repair enzymes as drug targets. Topics in the clinical symposium included the current status of the anti-HCV compounds sovaprevir, ACH-3102, miravirsen and ALS-2200; the evaluation of single-tablet regimens for HIV infection; and the investigation of cytomegalovirus resistance to CMX001. Two chemistry minisymposia examined strategies and tactics in drug design and the use of in drug discovery.