Seven classes of antiviral agents

Abstract

The viral epidemics and pandemics have stimulated the development of known and the discovery of novel antiviral agents. About a hundred mono- and combination antiviral drugs have been already approved, whereas thousands are in development. Here, we briefly reviewed 7 classes of antiviral agents: neutralizing antibodies, neutralizing recombinant soluble human receptors, antiviral CRISPR/Cas systems, interferons, antiviral peptides, antiviral nucleic acid polymers, and antiviral small molecules. Interferons and some small molecules alone or in combinations possess broad-spectrum antiviral activity, which could be beneficial for treatment of emerging and re-emerging viral infections.

Keywords: Antiviral; Antiviral drug combination; Broad-spectrum antiviral; Virus; Virus–host interaction.

Fig. 1

Antivirals, their potential sources, and stages of virus replication they affect (where appropriate). a Neutralizing antibodies. b Neutralizing recombinant soluble human receptors. c Antiviral CRISPR/Cas systems. d Interferons. e Antiviral peptides. f Antiviral nucleic acid polymers, including small interfering (si)/small hairpin (sh)RNAs. g Antiviral small molecules

Fig. 2

A circular heatmap depicting investigational/approved broad-spectrum antiviral agents (BSAs) and targeted viruses grouped into families

Fig. 3

Chord diagram showing the relationship between investigational/approved BSAs and the viruses grouped into families. The wider the lines connecting viral families, the greater the amount of BSAs

Fig. 4

Experimental, investigational, and approved BSA-containing drug combinations (BCCs). a A graph shows experimental (gray), investigational (light blue) and approved (blue) BCCs which target viruses of different families. b An arc diagram showing examples of BCCs targeting 2 or more viruses. The diagram is ordered according to number of drug combinations that include a particular antiviral compound