Critical need for novel antiviral drugs to combat both COVID and Influenza

Critical need for novel antiviral drugs to combat both COVID and Influenza

Public health institutions throughout the United States are struggling to combat the concurrent spread of influenza and coronavirus as the global incidence increases into the fall and winter months. In the midst of a concurrent COVID pandemic, Officials at the CDC stress the importance of receiving annual vaccination to treat flu incidence as a companion effort to curb COVID incidence into the winter.

Until a universal flu vaccine is developed, vaccination and rapid treatment with anti-influenza drugs are the most effective means of preventing serious illness. There is a pressing need for more effective therapeutic products against influenza and other respiratory viruses. The current FDA-approved medications to treat influenza are not highly effective in all situations. Additionally, treatment has to be initiated rapidly after the onset of symptoms for the drugs to be effective. To compound the difficulties of the current treatment regiments, numerous circulating influenza strains already display resistance to regimens routinely used in the clinic. Novel influenza drugs could increase the effectiveness of current antiviral therapeutic agents, especially when allowing for synergistic combinations to combat influenza and the spread of drug resistance.

ImQuest BioSciences has extensive experience assisting commercial and academic clients to develop novel therapeutics for influenza and other respiratory viruses, including coronavirus, human rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus. Additionally, ImQuest has significant experience with the evaluation of two- and three-drug combinations of approved and experimental compounds to search for the most robust and effective combination therapy, as well as evaluation of the ability of the respiratory viruses to evade therapeutic intervention via resistant virus generation. Contact us to learn more about our innovative efficacy and toxicity screening programs, from mechanistic biochemical assays to combinatorial analysis with currently approved FDA therapeutic agents and small rodent and ferret models.