Our study “Host-targeted repurposed diltiazem enhances the antiviral activity of direct acting antivirals against Influenza A virus and SARSCOV2” has been published in Antiviral Research.

Influenza and SARSCoV2 infections are major public health threat with recurrent emergence and dissemination of variant strains carrying mutations resulting in suboptimal vaccine protection and/or reduced efficacy of current limited therapeutic arsenal. In this context, host-targeted approaches constitute a promising antiviral strategy aiming to achieve broad-spectrum activity and mitigate the emergence of antiviral resistance.

We advantageously characterized the first-in-class antiviral Mode of Action of diltiazem as a modulator of the endogenous IFN-λ response in the respiratory airway. We performed software-assisted combination scenarios both in human respiratory cell lines and predictive reconstructed Human Airway Epithelia cultivated at air/liquid interface (HAE MucilAir®, Epithelix) to explore the potential of combining diltiazem with direct acting antiviral targeting viral polymerase namely baloxavir and molnupiravir.

This study contributes to the gathering of robust preclinical evidence on the therapeutic potential of host-targeted antivirals and particularly their combination with classic direct acting antivirals as an option worth of prioritization to address antiviral resistance and the emergence of novel respiratory viral strains with pandemic potential. Further validation and optimization in clinical trials is necessary before these innovative approaches are incorporated as compelling additions to our limited therapeutic arsenal.

Read the Publication: https://lnkd.in/edMvs3Z6