Advancing Antiviral Design: Integrating Natural Products, Computation and Targeted Delivery

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Drug Discovery
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored rapid viral mutation and global spread, highlighting the urgent need for advanced antiviral drug development.
• Limited clinical approval of antivirals, especially in developing nations, is exacerbated by resistance and vaccine limitations.
• Existing antiviral therapies face challenges including toxicity, cost, and accessibility, necessitating novel approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review challenges in conventional antiviral drug discovery.
• To examine emerging strategies for developing effective and cost-efficient antiviral agents.
• To propose an integrated pathway for antiviral candidate prioritization and translation.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on antiviral drug discovery and development.
• Analysis of innovative strategies including plant metabolites, advanced microscopy, computational methods (AI/ML), gene editing, combination therapy, and nanotechnology.
• Proposal of a decision-focused pathway integrating natural products, computation, and targeted delivery.

Main Results:

• Conventional antiviral drug development faces significant hurdles, including limited efficacy against resistant strains and accessibility issues.
• Emerging strategies like plant-derived compounds, AI-driven design, and nanomedicine show potential for novel antiviral discovery.
• An integrated approach combining natural products, computational tools, and targeted delivery can streamline candidate selection and development.

Conclusions:

• Innovative strategies offer significant promise for accelerating antiviral drug discovery and development.
• Addressing challenges in validation, toxicity, scalability, and equitable access is crucial for clinical translation.
• Integrating complementary technologies is essential for developing effective antivirals against current and future viral threats.