SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors

CD3 and KU Leuven have developed a small-molecule antiviral that targets the coronavirus membrane (M) protein, a key organizer of virus particle assembly. In vitro, this series inhibits SARS-CoV-2 (across a broad set of variants) and other coronaviruses. Its activity was confirmed in primary human nasal epithelial air–liquid interface cultures. The series blocks late-stage replication by blocking M protein-dependent oligomerization. In SCID mice and Syrian hamsters infected intranasally with SARS-CoV-2, oral dosing reduced lung viral titres to nearly undetectable levels and, in hamsters, prevented transmission to untreated sentinel animals.