ReViral has been granted a Seeding Drug Discovery award from the Wellcome Trust to develop novel small molecule RSV fusion inhibitors

London, UK – 6th December 2013: A stream-lined lead optimization project with the potential to deliver first in class small molecule inhibitors of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is one of the most important respiratory pathogen with 64 million infections and 160,000 deaths estimated worldwide annually. RSV infection is responsible for more infant hospitalizations than other viral infections such as influenza.

Susceptible populations are premature infants, children, transplant patients, the elderly and people of all ages with heart failure and lung disease. In addition, severe infection in infancy is linked to the later development of asthma. In the elderly in the US it was shown that RSV infection caused 177,500 hospital admissions and 14,000 deaths over a period of 4 years. Hospitalization costs alone were estimated at more than $1 billion. ReViral Ltd is focused on development of novel antiviral treatments for RSV. The Company has been granted an Seeding Drug Discovery award from the Wellcome Trust to develop novel small molecule RSV fusion inhibitors up to completion of preclinical studies. This project is a collaboration between ReViral Ltd. and the University of Sussex Drug Discovery group. The key goals of this project are to identify a drug candidate suitable for progression into studies in man and novel back compounds with the ambition of developing the first approved therapy for RSV.

Source: ReViral Ltd.