EU-funded Vigilant network aims to develop broad-spectrum antiviral drugs

Pandemics threaten both human health and the global economy. Vaccines are an essential part of the fight against pandemics, but they are only available months after the outbreak. Broad-spectrum drugs, on the other hand, could limit the spread of a pathogen at an early stage and save many lives. While broad-spectrum drugs are available to treat bacterial infections, there are no comparable drugs for viruses. The "Vigilant" research network aims to close this dangerous gap. The network is coordinated by the German Primate Centre - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and funded by the EU with around €7.5 million over four years.

Viral pandemics such as COVID-19 pose a serious threat to global health. The development and approval of vaccines and antiviral drugs can take many months. In addition, antivirals are often only effective against a narrow spectrum of viruses. To better combat future viral pandemics, it is essential to have drugs with broad antiviral activity that can be used immediately, without prior knowledge of the pathogen. Such drugs could, when used as prophylaxis, reduce the spread of a pathogen and possibly prevent a local outbreak from developing into a global pandemic. At the same time, they could be used as a therapy to help infected patients avoid severe disease, thereby reducing the burden on healthcare systems.

The "Vigilant" research network, funded by the EU's Horizon Europe program, aims to develop compounds with broad antiviral activity. "Vigilant" brings together the expertise of researchers in biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, molecular and cell biology and virology. The network is coordinated by the German Primate Center and is funded by the EU with 1.6 million euros.

Research will focus on viral envelope proteins. These proteins serve as "keys" for viruses to enter host cells. If it is possible to block the transport and activation of these viral envelope proteins in infected cells, the replication of viruses in the body would be stopped. As different viruses use the same cellular factors for transport and activation of their envelope proteins, the inhibitors developed could exert a broad antiviral activity. This will be investigated in cell culture and in animal experiments with mice, ferrets and monkeys.

Vigilant pursues two innovative approaches to antiviral therapy: inhibiting the transport of viral envelope proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum of infected cells and blocking the activation of envelope proteins by cellular proteases. Vigilant will produce new compounds that will significantly improve our preparedness for future pandemics."

Stefan Pöhlmann, coordinator of the Vigilant consortium and head of the Infection Biology Unit at the German Primate Center