Oregon Health & Science University researchers and partners are developing what could develop into the first-ever treatment against the debilitating joint pain that may last months or years after becoming infected with the emerging Chikungunya virus.

Although scientists have tried to create vaccines and coverings to fight the virus, none have been approved so far. Nearly $4.7 million in recent National Institutes of Health funding is now helping OHSU scientist Daniel Streblow, Ph.D., advance an experimental Chikungunya antiviral drug he has been developing since 2015. The brand new research could lead on the compound to be evaluated in humans for the primary time by the tip of 2027.

We’ve the potential to develop an antiviral that could possibly be used to treat hundreds of thousands of individuals during large Chikungunya outbreaks, and stop long-term disease in people who find themselves persistently affected by this debilitating disease.”

Daniel Streblow, Professor at OHSU’s Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute

Streblow is leading the brand new research project in collaboration with Mark T. Heise Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Richard Whitley, M.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The research team also includes scientists on the University of Colorado Denver, Southern Research in Alabama and SRI Biosciences in California.

The mosquito species whose bites spread the virus live in warmer climates. Chikungunya virus was first identified in Africa in 1952, but can now even be present in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Americas and Europe. Climate change could expand its geographic range. Globally, greater than 360,000 Chikungunya cases and 77 deaths have been identified to date this yr, with most cases occurring in Brazil, India and Guatemala. The virus began spreading in the USA in 2014; the spread was limited, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there have been 13 locally acquired cases in U.S. states since then.

An initial bout with Chikungunya could cause fever, joint and muscle pain, a rash and other symptoms for one to 2 weeks. Young children, older adults and people with hypertension or diabetes have the next risk of experiencing severe disease or death. While most individuals fully get better, about 30 to 40% will experience persistent joint pain -; generally known as chronic Chikungunya arthritis -; for months and even years. The resulting pain could be so incapacitating that some are unable to work.

Much like the COVID drug Paxlovid, the experimental Chikungunya antiviral compound is designed to scale back the full amount virus, or viral load. Described as a 2-pyrimidone small molecule inhibitor, the compound -; patent pending -; works by binding to the viral RNA polymerase through which viruses normally replicate. Streblow describes the compound as “first at school,” since it targets a singular site on viral RNA polymerase and it hasn’t been used to treat humans before.

In previous, unpublished research involving mice, studies found the experimental antiviral reduced Chikungunya viral loads by as much as 1,000 times, and stopped long-term joint symptoms when it was given one to 2 weeks after infection. And when the compound was given later, the research team also found that persistent viral loads, that are thought to cause long-term disease, were also reduced.

Now, the research team is working to tweak the antiviral compound’s chemistry and switch it right into a pill that could be taken by mouth. The team plans to check the reformulated compound’s effectiveness and safety in additional advanced animal models.

Next, the research team goals to submit an Investigational Latest Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If their application is approved, OHSU would lead a Phase 1 clinical trial to guage the experimental treatment’s safety and efficacy in people for the primary time.

Source:

Oregon Health & Science University