Recent Patents and FDA-Approved Drugs Based on Antiviral Peptides and Other Peptide-Related Antivirals

Abstract

In spite of existing cases of severe viral infections with a high mortality rate, there are not enough antiviral drugs and vaccines available for the prevention and treatment of such diseases. In addition, the increasing reports of the emergence of viral epidemics highlight, the need for novel molecules with antiviral potential. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antiviral activity or antiviral peptides (AVPs) have turned into a research hotspot and already show tremendous potential to become pharmaceutically available antiviral medicines. AMPs, a diverse group of bioactive peptides act as a part of our first line of defense against pathogen inactivation. Although most of the currently reported AMPs are either antibacterial or antifungal peptides, the number of antiviral peptides is gradually increasing. Some of the AMPs that are shown as effective antivirals have been deployed against viruses such as influenza A virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), HIV, HSV, West Nile Virus (WNV), and other viruses. This review offers an overview of AVPs that have been approved within the past few years and will set out a few of the most essential patents and their usage within the context mentioned above during 2000–2020. Moreover, the present study will explain some of the progress in antiviral drugs based on peptides and peptide-related antivirals.

A review of the antiviral activity of cationic antimicrobial peptides

“…This review also explored the advancements made in the development of antiviral drugs utilizing peptides and related compounds. However, despite the FDA's approval of specific peptides for antiviral treatment, there is still a lack of effective therapeutics specifically designed to target viral infections [1] , [2] . It is challenging to design antivirals that do not impact the host as viruses use the host cell machinery for replication.…”

Recent Advances on Targeting Proteases for Antiviral Development

“…Though it might seem challenging, this myriad of pathways also offers multiple potential targets that can be explored in drug development. So far, the attention has been mostly directed to viral targets that could directly inhibit replication, such as viral proteases, a trend that can be seen in most recent developments for different diseases [ 167 , 168 ]. However, viruses are highly prone to mutation, quickly rendering most of the researched targets ineffective within a short period of time and requiring new approaches on a regular basis.…”

A critical review on antiviral peptides derived from viral glycoproteins and host receptors to decoy herpes simplex virus

“…It is now emerging as a potential therapeutic to treat cancer and cardiovascular, metabolic, viral and microbial diseases. Approved antiviral synthetic peptides (Tesamorelin, Telaprevir, Bulevirtide and Nelfinavir), peptidomimetics (Enfuvirtide, Atazanavir, Saquinavir, Indinavir, Lopinavir, Boceprevir and Ritonavir) and peptide-like small molecules (Peramivir, Remdesivir and Glecaprevir) highlight the enormous potential of protein-or peptidebased therapeutics (Agarwal & Gabrani, 2021;Mousavi Maleki et al, 2023). Decoys are widely used to counterfeit biological processes.…”