A New Front Line Drug For Flu In the Offing?

indigo girl · Dec 26, 2009

If this pans out, it is excellent news. Let us hope that it does. We desperately need new drugs for flu

that work in a different manner than what we have been using in the past.

This week the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a paper about a new antiviral drug that fully protected mice against virulent bird flu virus (H5N1). I don't usually pay a lot of attention to papers announcing new flu antivirals that work in animals. It's a long way from there to use in humans. But this drug, called T-705 (also known as favipiravir) seems different in several respects. The work was mainly supported by the Japanese government (with some support from the US NIH) and was led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, one of the world's leading flu scientists (University of Tokyo and the University of Wisconsin). It is quite unlike the two other classes of antivirals for flu, the adamantane class of M2 blockers (Amantadine and Rimantadine) and the neuriminidase inhibitors (oseltamivir/Tamifluy and zanamivir/Relenza). Resistance to those drugs has developed or is developing. But T-705 works against H5N1 that is resistant to Tamiflu but amazingly has broad spectrum activity against a wide range of RNA viruses, including all subtypes tested of influenza A, influenza B, influenza C, poliovirus, rhinovirus, yellowfever virus, respiratory syncytial virus, arenavirus and West Nile Virus. At the same time, it doesn't seem to work against any DNA virus (like adenovirus). As they say in virology: Wow! How is this possible?
...the promise of a front-line drug against H5N1 and who knows what else is heartening. Flu is unpredictable, so I hope they move fast to see if this one pans out. You never know when we might need it and plenty of it.
A transmissible H5N1-like flu virus is the ugly shadow behind the current pandemic. With drug resistance to Tamiflu developing, we need another weapon, especially one as effective as this appears to be. Keep your fingers crossed.

More at: http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/12/a_new_front_line_drug_for_flu.php

The Editors of Effect Measure are senior public health scientists and practitioners. Paul Revere was a member of the first local Board of Health in the United States (Boston, 1799). The Editors sign their posts "Revere" to recognize the public service of a professional forerunner better known for other things.