ANTIVIRESPIR – Laboratoire CEISAM // CEISAM Institute

The Covid-19 crisis revealed our lack of preparedness to respond rapidly to emerging infectious diseases with pandemic potential. It is therefore essential to be ready to deal with emerging and re-emerging viral diseases by implementing new preventive and/or curative approaches, using new tools to rapidly control the spread of emerging viruses. Particularly, respiratory viruses are now a permanent threat to humans due to the emergence of virulent viral strains, and to the increase in population which is concentrated in large cities. Even when vaccines are available, antivirals remain essential tools for fighting viral infections, due to the fact that some people are unwilling or unable to be vaccinated, or are resistant to vaccination. Antiviral development is therefore a priority. Ideally, new antivirals should be broad-spectrum, targeting different viruses within the same family, or better still, targeting different viral families. The ANTIVIRESPIR program brings together scientists involved in large-scale phenotypic screening with access to national chemical libraries and new nucleoside analogues, synthesized by the consortium's chemistry teams, to specifically target respiratory virus RNA polymerases. The most promising molecules will be optimized in collaboration with virologists and biologists with expertise in the use, development and functional characterization of in vitro lung models, and immunologists for preclinical models.

The aim of this program is to discover new substances effective against coronaviruses, influenza viruses and/or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with validation in preclinical models.

ANTIVIRESPIR - Screening, identification and characterization of antivirals against respiratory viruses.

Project summary

Project members

External partners