The laboratory selection of antiviral agents.

The major disease targets for antiviral chemotherapy are influenza, rhinovirus colds and herpetic infections Some success has been achieved against influenza with 1-amino adamantane (amantadine), and several new alicyclic amines are at the development stage. There are many organic compounds, covering a wide range of chemical types, which will inhibit very effectively most or all strains of rhinovirus in vitro, but all have failed to inhibit significantly disease development in infected human volunteers. Most success has been achieved with anti-herpetic drugs, and a variety of nucleoside analogues ar now available for clinical use. Primary testing methods for potential antiviral agents rely on high-through-put methods for detecting inhibition of virus replication in cell cultures. Secondary screening of active compounds is often done in organ culture e.g. tracheal tissue explants. In-vivo evaluation is done in animal models of the human disease, where available. Prolonged safety testing is required before human trials can be started.