Scientists have developed novel drug-like molecules that could potentially prevent influenza infections by targeting the initial stage of the viral infection process. This represents a shift from traditional flu medications, which only treat after infection has occurred. The research indicates significant progress in the development of a preventative treatment for influenza, potentially reducing the need for annual vaccinations.
Currently, flu medications work by tackling the virus once it has already infected the body. However, researchers at Scripps Research and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine are taking a proactive approach. They have developed drug-like molecules aimed at preventing influenza infections before they start by blocking the initial stage of the viral infection process.
The drug-like inhibitors block the virus from entering the body’s respiratory cells—specifically, they target hemagglutinin, a protein on the surface of type A influenza viruses. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on May 16, 2024, represent an important step forward in developing a drug that can prevent influenza infection. “We’re trying to target the very first stage of influenza infection since it would be better to prevent infection in the first place, but these molecules could also be used to inhibit the spread of the virus after one’s infected,” says corresponding author Ian Wilson, DPhil, the Hansen Professor of Structural Bi.
