Recent advances in herpes simplex virus antiviral therapies

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections affect nearly 150 million Americans, of which 40 – 60 million are infected with HSV-2 and up to an additional 1 million new individuals are infected each year. The current treatment for HSV infections are nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir. Despite the safety and efficacy of these agents, many of these agents possess limited oral bioavailability, must be given early in the disease process for maximal benefit, and resistance to these agents in immunocompromised individuals is a significant clinical problem. To counteract these problems, alternative anti-HSV agents have been reported. This review will discuss new anti-HSV agents published in the patent literature from 2000 to 2003. Among these new agents, the helicase–primase inhibitors and the non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors represent the best possibilities for the next generation of anti-HSV agents. This review will also discuss other agents that target other parts of the viral life-cycle, such as HSV proteases, transcription in the virus, and viral entry and budding. Finally, the review will highlight novel compounds that display antiviral properties without a well-defined mechanism of action.

• antiviral agent
• disease
• drug
• herpes
• herpes simplex virus (HSV)
• herpesvirus
• inhibitor
• simplex
• treatment
• virus