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Updated: Dec 12, 2025

High-throughput Screening for Broad-spectrum Chemical Inhibitors of RNA Viruses
Published on: May 5, 2014
Remdesivir triphosphate can efficiently inhibit the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase from various flaviviruses
Eva Konkolova1, Milan Dejmek1, Hubert Hřebabecký1
1Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, V.v.i., Flemingovo Nam. 2, 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Abstract:
Remdesivir was shown to inhibit RNA-dependent RNA-polymerases (RdRp) from distinct viral families such as from Filoviridae (Ebola) and Coronaviridae (SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, MERS). In this study, we tested the ability of remdesivir to inhibit RdRps from the Flaviviridae family. Instead of remdesivir, we used the active species that is produced in cells from remdesivir, the appropriate triphosphate, which could be directly tested in vitro using recombinant flaviviral polymerases. Our results show that remdesivir can efficiently inhibit RdRps from viruses causing severe illnesses such as Yellow fever, West Nile fever, Japanese and Tick-borne encephalitis, Zika and Dengue. Taken together, this study demonstrates that remdesivir or its derivatives have the potential to become a broad-spectrum antiviral agent effective against many RNA viruses.
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