Antivirals

Why are there so few antivirals? The answer boils down to biology, and specifically the fact viruses use our own cells to multiply. This makes it hard to kill viruses without killing our own cells in the process - Christine Carson & Rachel Roper

Antivirals

image by: Naveed Muhammad
     

HWN Recommends

Developing antiviral drugs is not easy – here’s why

The reason there are few effective broad-spectrum antivirals is that viruses are much more diverse than bacteria, including in how they store their genetic information (some in the form of DNA and some as RNA). Unlike bacteria, viruses have fewer of their own protein building blocks that can be targeted with drugs.

For a drug to work, it has to reach its target. This is particularly difficult with viruses because they replicate inside human cells by hijacking our cellular machinery. The drug needs to get inside these infected cells and act on processes that are essential for the normal functioning of the human body. Unsurprisingly, this often results in collateral damage to human…

read full article

Resources

Health Cloud

Related Articles

Stay Connected

©2023 | HealthWorldNet, Inc. | 118623

Last Updated : Friday, January 27, 2023