| Title | Pleconaril, a novel antipicornaviral agent. | ||
| Author | Florea, Naomi R; Maglio, Dana; Nicolau, David P | ||
| Journal | Pharmacotherapy | Publication Year/Month | 2003-Mar |
| PMID | 12627933 | PMCID | PMC7168037 |
| Affiliation | 1.Department of Pharmacy Research, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut 06102, USA. | ||
Despite the availability of therapy for selected symptoms, no specific antiviral agents are available to treat or prevent infections due to the viruses of the Picornaviridae family--rhinoviruses and enteroviruses. Characterization of the three-dimensional structure of picornaviruses in the 1980s allowed development of compounds targeted at the virus itself. Pleconaril is a novel, orally available, systemically acting molecule whose pharmacokinetics are characterized by a two-compartment open model with first-order absorption and with a safety profile similar to that of placebo. It shows promising results in treatment of picornaviral respiratory tract infections, meningitis, and other life-threatening infections.