What is it about?
Influenza infections can be serious and life-threatening. A new drug known as favipiravir (T-705) shows promise, but its effect on the virus is not well understood. We investigated this drug and compared it to ribavirin, another antiviral drug with a comparable chemical structure. We found that T-705 and ribavirin have different actions on the influenza virus and its host cell.
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Why is it important?
Ribavirin is a well-known antiviral drug that is often used as a 'last resource' to treat virus infections when no drugs are available, or when all existing drugs can not be used due to viral resistance. The antiviral drug favipiravir (T-705) is relatively new. It is approved in Japan (for limited use against influenza), and in advanced clinical testing in other countries. The fact that its antiviral mode of action is not entirely clear, is a drawback for its approval. Our study is very complete and provides essential information to understand how T-705 acts on the influenza virus.
Perspectives
Other publications have dealt with the same topic, but our study is the first one to combine all proposed hypotheses regarding T-705 and ribavirin, in one systematic and comprehensive approach.
Lieve Naesens
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Distinct Effects of T-705 (Favipiravir) and Ribavirin on Influenza Virus Replication and Viral RNA Synthesis, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2016, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/aac.01156-16.
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