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Antiviral drug discovery and development: challenges and future directions

Shaoqing Du1,2, Xueping Hu3, Ping Li4

  • 1Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, P. R. China.

Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
|February 24, 2026
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated antiviral drug discovery, leading to new therapeutic strategies. This review details advancements in antiviral agents, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology for future infectious disease control.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic spurred significant research into antiviral therapies against SARS-CoV-2.
  • Numerous potential drugs and clinical trials have advanced antiviral drug development.
  • Existing efforts have yielded substantial progress in identifying and developing antiviral interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive timeline of antiviral drug development.
  • To outline current advancements in antiviral drug discovery, including strategies and optimization.
  • To discuss challenges and future prospects informed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Review of historical progression of antiviral agents from early inhibitors to broad-spectrum drugs.
  • Analysis of current antiviral drug discovery approaches: target-based, mechanism-based, and pharmacokinetic optimization.
  • Exploration of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology in drug development.

Main Results:

  • Significant advancements in antiviral drug discovery and development have been achieved.
  • Artificial intelligence is increasingly used for protein structure prediction, target identification, and bioactivity forecasting.
  • Nanotechnology has proven vital for drug delivery and vaccine development, such as mRNA vaccines.

Conclusions:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of novel antiviral strategies.
  • Future drug discovery may leverage AI, medicinal chemistry, nanotechnology, and targeting novel mechanisms like phase separation.
  • Continued innovation is crucial for effective control of viral infections and future pandemics.

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