Antiviral Agents

About

Polyamine transport inhibitors are a potential new approach for treating viral infections. Polyamines are required for a variety of viral processes including replication, protein synthesis, and virus-host interactions. Many viruses, including coronaviruses, have been shown to be sensitive to polyamine depletion. While targeting polyamine metabolism is a known antiviral strategy, previous studies have not focused on the use of polyamine transport inhibitors. UCF's approach is to use polyamine transport inhibitors to deplete viruses of their polyamine resources. UCF’s patented polyamine transport inhibitor compound was shown to block SARS-Cov2 virus infection in vitro, suggesting the virus may be dependent on polyamine import for survival. Additional studies focusing on polyamine transport inhibitor compounds as antivirals are underway.