A new antiviral drug could be the answer to the prayers of those looking for a pill to combat measles.
Soon people may be able to pop a pill for measles if the new drug in question passes the litmus test in animal trials. This could be made possible, thanks to the efforts of scientists from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, the Paul-Ehrlich Institute in Germany and the Emory Institute for Drug Discovery (EIDD) who have developed the antiviral drug for measles. This will aid in protecting those infected with measles from falling ill. Moreover, the pill will stop those infected from spreading the virus to unvaccinated people.
The study was published on Wednesday, April 16, in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Researchers tested the drug ERDRP-0519 on animals that were infected with a virus that is similar to the one causing measles. The drug is effective in blocking the measles-like virus in ferrets.
When the drug was administered to the infected animals by mouth, the researchers noted that the virus levels showed a significant decrease. Moreover, the antiviral drug also stopped the animals from dying because of the ailment and increased the ferrets' immunity.
"The emergence of strong antiviral immunity in treated animals is particularly encouraging, since it suggests that the drug may not only save an infected individual from disease but contribute to closing measles immunity gaps in a population," notes lead researcher Dr. Richard Plemper of Georgia State University.
"We are delighted to see our long-standing collaboration with Dr. Plemper and his team at the GSU IBMS come to fruition, and we look forward to continuing to leverage the medicinal chemistry and drug development capabilities at the EIDD in this and future collaborations with his group," says Dr. Michael Natchus, director of operations at the EIDD.
The drug ERDRP-0519 has been developed particularly to combat measles and is effective thanks to the fact that it interferes with the capability of the virus to duplicate itself.
However, the testing of the drug remains restricted to animals as it is not feasible to test ERDRP-0519 against the measles virus simply because no model that imitates measles in humans exists in animals. Plemper, however, is optimistic about the capabilities of the drug and opines that it can be used to cure friends or family members of an infected person who are yet to develop symptoms of measles but are at risk.
The scientists also warned that ERDRP-0519 is not an ancillary for vaccination, but can be used as a supplement to aid the eradication of measles.
