nitd008 and Hepatitis-E

Globally, hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes significant morbidity and mortality each year. Despite this burden, there are no specific antivirals available to treat HEV patients, and the only licensed vaccine is not available outside China. Ribavirin and alpha interferon are used to treat chronic HEV infections; however, severe side effects and treatment failure are commonly reported. Therefore, this study aimed to identify potential antivirals for further development to combat HEV infection. We selected 16 compounds from the nucleoside and nonnucleoside antiviral classes that range in developmental status from late preclinical to FDA approved and evaluated them as potential antivirals for HEV infection, using genotype 1 replicon luminescence studies and replicon RNA quantification. Two potent inhibitors of HEV replication included NITD008 (half-maximal effective concentration [EC

Topics: Adenosine; Antiviral Agents; Cell Line, Tumor; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Synergism; Genes, Reporter; Hepatitis E; Hepatitis E virus; Humans; Nitriles; Nitro Compounds; Replicon; RNA, Viral