Inhibitors of the influenza virus polymerase

Only recently the co-founders of Savira, the research team around Stephen Cusack, Head of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) outstation in Grenoble, France, identified the molecular architecture of both the cap-binding domain in the PB2 and the endonuclease-active site in the PA subunit of the influenza viral polymerase. These findings are major breakthroughs in influenza research and opened new avenues for rational, structure-based development of anti-influenza drugs targeting the viral polymerase with the aim to selectively stop the viral reproductive cycle.
Based on first promising hits, Savira will develop selective inhibitors for both the cap-binding and the endonuclease domain of the influenza viral polymerase. Selective inhibitors of the viral polymerase should yield ideal drug candidates to combat both seasonal and pandemic influenza.