In search of a small-molecule inhibitor for respiratory syncytial virus.

Respiratory syncytial virus has been an ongoing health problem for 50 years. Hospitalization rates due to virus-induced respiratory illness continue to be substantial for infants, small children, the elderly and the immunocompromised. The only currently available treatments are a broad-spectrum antiviral and two immunoprophylactic antibodies, all of which are reserved for high-risk patients. The combination of this limited therapeutic repertoire and the lack of a vaccine clearly demonstrates the need to continue the search for more efficacious and safe agents against respiratory syncytial virus. The following is a review on the current progress of that search.