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Updated: Nov 4, 2025
09:29
Early Viral Entry Assays for the Identification and Evaluation of Antiviral Compounds
Published on: October 29, 2015
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Drug combination therapy for emerging viral diseases
Zeenat A Shyr1, Yu-Shan Cheng1, Donald C Lo1
1National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Drug Discovery Today
|May 23, 2021
Summary
Combination therapy offers a promising strategy for combating emerging viral infections. Repurposing existing drugs can accelerate the identification of effective synergistic treatments for viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Emerging viral infections pose a significant global health threat, with limited effective monotherapies.
- Chronic viral infections like HIV and HCV demonstrate the limitations of single-drug treatments.
- Combination therapy has proven successful in managing chronic viral infections, improving patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the potential of combination therapy for emerging and re-emerging viral infections.
- To propose drug repurposing as a rapid strategy for identifying synergistic antiviral drug candidates.
- To facilitate accelerated clinical testing and emergency use authorization for novel therapeutics.
Main Methods:
- Review of historical treatment successes and failures for viral infections.
- Analysis of the principles of additive and synergistic drug effects.
- Exploration of drug repurposing screens as a method for identifying combination therapies.
Main Results:
- Combination therapy enhances therapeutic efficacy by achieving additive or synergistic effects.
- Successful management of chronic viral infections underscores the value of combination approaches.
- Drug repurposing screens can rapidly identify synergistic candidates for emerging viruses.
Conclusions:
- Combination therapy is crucial for effective treatment of emerging viral threats.
- Drug repurposing offers a viable interim strategy to accelerate therapeutic development.
- Synergistic drug combinations can significantly reduce viral load, morbidity, and mortality.
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