Antiviral Activity of Favipiravir Against Henipaviruses

Date/Time: 20 May 2016, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Speaker: Alexander Freiberg, Ph.D.
Speaker Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, and Director, Robert E. Shope BSL-4 Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Venue: John A. Burns School of Medicine, Kakaako Campus, 651 Ilalo Street, MEB Auditorium (Room 315)

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Description: Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus are recently emerged bat-borne paramyxoviruses of the Henipavirus genus which cause severe acute respiratory and encephalitic diseases in humans. The case-fatality rate ranges from 40-90%, depending on the size of the outbreak. Currently, no vaccines or therapeutics are approved for use in humans. Favipiravir (T-705) is an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor that has been approved for use against influenza virus in Japan and has displayed broad-spectrum efficacy against multiple RNA viruses (including filo-, arena- and bunyaviruses). Here, we demonstrate the in vitro activity of T-705 against henipaviruses and in vivo efficacy in a small animal model for NiV.
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