AntiviralsLatest Developments and Future Progress
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Thirty years after the antibiotics era exploded onto the chemical stage, the era of antivirals has now definitely come of age. More than 50 antiviral compounds are now licensed for clinical use, roughly half of them for the treatment of HIV infections (AIDS), and ongoing efforts are focused on developing... read moreeffective antiviral agents for the treatment of the currently most important viral pathogens, including HIV, HBV, HCV, influenza, herpes virus (HSV, VZV, CMV, …), poxvirus and hemorrhagic fever virus infections.
The future of antiviral research, both clinical and fundamental, is burgeoning. Vaccine approaches have already revolutionized the control of important viral diseases such as variola (smallpox), poliomyelitis and hepatitis B. Clearly, the final conquest of these and many other viral diseases will ultimately depend on antiviral compounds, their development and their application.