Recent highlights in the development of new antiviral drugs

Twenty antiviral drugs, that is about half of those that are currently approved, are formally licensed for clinical use in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infections (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). The others are used in the treatment of herpesvirus (e.g. herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus and cytomegalo virus), hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus or influenza virus infections. Recent endeavours have focussed on the development of improved antiviral therapies for virus infections that have already proved amenable to antiviral drug treatment, as well as for virus infections for which, at present, no antiviral drugs have been formally approved (i.e. human papilloma viruses, adenoviruses, human herpesvirus type 6, poxviruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and hemorrhagic fever viruses).