Novel stategy to fight Influenza as well as pneumonia – FluCure

Influenza is one of the most common infectious diseases in humans occurring as seasonal epidemic and sporadic pandemic outbreaks. The ongoing infections of humans with avian H5N1 influenza A viruses (IAV) and the ongoing pandemic caused by recently emerged swine-origin H1N1 viruses highlights the permanent threat caused by these viruses.

To date, unfortunately, our current repertoire of antiviral remedies against these pathogens is limited to two approved classes of compounds, to which a drastic increase in viral resistance has occurred in recent years. The major reason for the rapid acquirement of mutations that allow influenza viruses to replicate unhindered in the presence of the licensed anti-influenza drugs is that these compounds target viral proteins in the face of a high viral mutation rate, making these substances useless. Therefore to fight against Flu, our efforts should include the production of new or improved influenza antiviral drugs against a broad range of influenza strains.

The strategy that we propose here is to extend an advanced project that we successfully set up recently and which aims at developping an antiviral that target cellular factors instead of the virus to prevent emergence of resistant. The potential use of the promizing coumpounds have been intellectually protected by two patents. Not only, they are efficient in vitro and in vivo against A/PR8/34 (H1N1) strain but they act through the release of interferon, a broad antiviral cytokine. Thus, the anitivrals should act independently of the influenza subtype.

The aim of our project is now to analyse the suitability for our molecules inhibiting replication of highly pathogenic avian viruses (H5N1) and pandemic H1N1 (2009) in vitro and in vivo.

This project offers a long term perspective and provides an alternative management option for viral strains resistant to any of the currently available anti-influenza drugs. These moelcules should at the end of the project catch the interest of the industry.